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Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in North America . Every day,thousands of people become victims of this invasive and financially crippling crime.
Identity thieves steal key pieces of personal information and use it to impersonate the victim and commit crimes in their name. In addition to names, addresses and phone numbers, thieves look for social insurance numbers, drivers licence numbers, credit card and banking information, bank cards, calling cards, birth certificates and passports.
Once they steal the information and manipulate it, thieves completely invade the victim's personal and financial life. They often go on spending sprees, take over and open new bank accounts, divert mail, apply for loans, credit cards, and social benefits, rent apartments and even committing more serious crimes which, once arrested, they pin on their new identity.
Prevention
How Your Identity Can be Stolen
If You Become a Victim
How to Get More Information
Take a few simple steps to prevent identity theft, and know how to react quickly if it happens.
Prevention
- Never leave your purse or wallet unattended. Be careful at work, at restaurants, at health fitness clubs, in your shopping cart, or at social gatherings. Likewise, never leave your purse or wallet in open view in your car, even when locked;
- Immediately shred all documents with personal information. This includes cheques, credit cards, bank statements, ATM receipts, pay stubs or forms. Some thieves scavenge through the garbage in search of credit card or loan applications, files, and identification/authentication data such as login IDs and passwords. Thieves can search erased disks for any retrievable data, so destroy these as well;
- Review your cheque, credit card, utility and other statements immediately. Challenge any purchases or charges that you did not make. Limit the number of credit cards you have and cancel any inactive accounts. Destroy all unused pre-approved credit card and loan applications. The mailbox thief only has to fill them out and change the return address to start using your credit;
- Never give any important numbers out. This includes your driver's licence, credit card, bank account, date of birth, or social insurance number - especially over the telephone. If the numbers are requested for cheque cashing purposes, ask if the business has alternative options such as such as a cheque-cashing card;
- Memorize your passwords and personal identification (PIN) numbers. Keep your PIN numbers somewhere that only you know. Don’t give out your PIN or write them on your credit cards or ATM cards. Some thieves will lurk around automatic teller machines (ATMs) and phone booths in order to capture PIN numbers (by watching through binoculars as the numbers are being entered, or more simply, by casting a watchful gaze over someone's shoulder);
- Photocopy or keep a list of all your credit and identification cards. This will help you quickly call the issuers to inform them about missing or stolen cards.
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How Your Identity Can be Stolen
Today's identity thieves are making off with people's identifying data in much more sophisticated ways than through stolen wallets. Some of these include:
- Using software to steal private information. Programs such as "signal analysis" and "sniffer" programs intercept financial data, passwords, addresses or other personal information being sent over networks;
- Breaking into computer systems and gaining access to personal data. For example, names, addresses and credit card or social insurance numbers (SINs) located in databases of financial organizations, employers, creditors, and credit bureaus can be downloaded by employees, former employees or external hackers. They can then sell the information or use it to open fraudulent accounts.
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If You Become a Victim:
- Report the incident to the police immediately. Insist on being given a police report number and enclose it in all correspondence with credit agencies;
- Report all stolen credit cards immediately and request new card numbers. Request that your account be flagged to the major credit bureaus in Canada such as Equifax, Trans Union, and Northern Credit Bureaus Inc. and ask that they attach a fraud alert statement to your report. Ask for a free copy of your report after three months to see if there are any unknown credit lines in your name. Equifax can be reached at 1 800 465-7166, Trans Union at 1 800 663-9980, and Northern Credit Bureaus Inc. at 1 800 532-8784;
- If someone is using your social insurance number to establish credit or new accounts contact the toll-free number for the Government of Canada in your local telephone directory, under the heading Social Insurance Number. [To call directly, the number is 506 548-7961. Note that there is a charge for this call.];
- Take action! If you have any criminal or civil judgements against you as a result of the identity thief's actions, get them permanently removed;
- Keep a log of all your contacts and make copies of all documents.
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How to Get More Information
The following organizations have are valuable resources and provide good information about how to protect yourself from identify theft.
PhoneBusters: Canada's national anti-fraud call centre
Competition Bureau of Canada
SafeCanada.ca
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