Sadly, identification theft is on the rise in Canada. In 2023, over 11,000 instances of ID fraud had been reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC). Fraud crimes are vastly underreported, so the entire is probably going a lot greater.
Identification theft is not simply somebody combing via your paper mail for private data. That also occurs, however what’s extra doubtless now’s that your data is being stolen on-line via hacking or a phishing rip-off, the place you might be unknowingly giving a scammer private data. Right here’s what you must know—plus the way to forestall additional ID theft.
What’s identification theft?
Identification theft is when criminals steal your private or monetary data, like your social insurance coverage quantity (SIN), bank card quantity or checking account data, and use it to open new bank cards, apply for presidency advantages, make purchases, or entry your financial institution accounts and steal funds.
Beforehand, identification thieves operated primarily by stealing envelopes from mailboxes and going via recycling bins to search out delicate paperwork. However criminals have expanded deep into the digital world. They usually use synthetic intelligence (AI) to focus on tons of or 1000’s of individuals on the identical time, impersonating a authorities or financial institution official utilizing cellphone calls, texts or emails to “phish” for private data. Scammers additionally use refined digital instruments to hack accounts over public Wi-Fi, which means they’ll acquire entry to your financial institution accounts and extra. Anybody is usually a goal of identification theft.
The right way to report identification theft in Canada
Should you suspect your identification has been stolen, don’t look ahead to verification—report the crime to your native police. Should you imagine your SIN has been stolen, report this to Service Canada by calling 1-866-274-6627. You also needs to contact the CAFC so it may well compile statistics on how prevalent this downside is. Fill out data on-line within the Fraud Reporting System or contact the CAFC at 1-888-495-8501.
Then you must contact the Canadian credit score bureaus, together with Equifax, to allow them to flag your file and notify you if anybody tries to open a bank card or take out a mortgage in your title. Additionally pay shut consideration to your credit score scores and credit score reviews, additionally out there via Equifax, for indicators of suspicious exercise.
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It’s confirmed, your identification has been stolen—now what?
As soon as your identification has been stolen, you’re more likely to be focused once more. When scammers steal somebody’s identification, they usually promote the info to a 3rd celebration, who will attempt to contact the sufferer—they’re now seen as a straightforward goal for different crimes.
You could end up on the receiving finish of extra phishing scams from unsolicited numbers or faux financial institution workers. Plus, when you place protecting measures at your banks and credit score bureau, it could be more durable so that you can open a brand new account—you might have to undergo a number of verification checks. If the thief hurts your credit score rating by opening and utilizing bank cards, then it could even be difficult so that you can open new bank cards and apply for loans. And this could have an effect on your monetary life for a really very long time—presumably years.
