A new study suggests there's been an uptick in phone scams preying on Canadians.
Seattle-based Hiya says 6.3 per cent of unwanted calls received by Canadians in the first three months of the year amounted to fraud, compared with 5.9 per cent in the final quarter of 2022.
The study says the average Canadian received three spam calls per month in that time.
Jonathan Nelson, director of product management for Hiya, says scammers are likely trying to hit the Canadian market more aggressively than countries such as the United States.
Some of the top scams in Canada relate to cryptocurrency trading and those targeting newer immigrants who may be less familiar with the way the government works.
Canadians also receive high volumes of air duct cleaning scam calls, which the report notes are largely unheard of outside of the country.
Combating scams has been a priority for Canada's telecommunications regulator in recent years.
Last November, the CRTC hosted a meeting with its counterparts from Australia, Ireland, Hong Kong and the U.S. to explore collaboration to disrupt scam communications.