Are you a Victim of Indentity Theft?

Identity theft occurs when someone steals your personal information and uses it to commit a crime.

With your identity information thieves can do many things you would never think of such as: open new bank accounts, order cell phones, take out a mortgage on your property, and buy any number of items using your credit. 

Signs of Identity Theft:

• Purchases appear on your monthly statements that you didn't make
• Bills arrive for accounts you didn't open
• Collection agency start calling about debts you don't know anything about 
• Credit card and bank statements don't arrive in the mail
• Your credit report shows items you know nothing about 

What you should do if you suspect you are a victim of identity theft?

1. Call your financial institutions and the police immediately to report any missing debit or credit cards. This will prove to creditor's that you were diligent in reporting. Also, this is the first step towards beginning an investigation.
2. Put a fraud alert on your credit report. This alert tells any companies checking your credit, that your information has been stolen and that they need to contact you by phone, to authorize any new credit. This is the most effective way to minimize the damage that could be done by an identity thief.
3. To put a fraud alert on your credit report contact:
   Equifax: 1-800-465-7166
   Trans Union: 1-877-525-3823
   Quebec residents: 1-877-713-3393
4. To replace ID cards like health & Social Insurance Numbers contact 1-800- O Canada or Service Canada 1-800-206-7218. To replace driver's license contact Ministry of Transportation 
5. Contact Canada Post if your mail is missing
6. Keep records of steps you've taken to clear your name and re-establish your credit
7. Help stop fraud. Contact PhoneBusters at 1-888-495-8501 or phonebusters.com

Preventative measures that can be used to minimize your risk of becoming a victim:

Guard your personal information, be very careful when giving out your information!

• Never give your personal information by phone, Internet, email or mail unless you initiated the contact.
• When you order cheques, have only your initials (instead of your first name) printed with your last name. If someone steals your cheque book they may not know your first name or how you sign your cheques but your bank will know.
• When making payments for credit cards etc, do not put the complete account number on any line, front or back of the cheque only use the last four numbers. The credit card company can access the rest of the account number from the last four numbers. Anyone else handling your cheques while they pass through all the cheque processing channels won't have access to your account numbers.
• Put your work phone number on your cheques instead of your home number.
• Use a P.O. box instead of your home address. This makes it very difficult for criminals to change any of your personal information especially if they do not have your address etc.
• Never put your Social Insurance Number on anything other than  employment or tax related reporting.
• Make a copy of all the information contained in your wallet. Be sure to copy both sides of all the items contained in your wallet. Keep the information in a safe place. If your wallet is ever lost or stolen you will have easy access to all of the information that was in your wallet along with account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel cards, etc.
• Keep a list of the toll free numbers you'll need to cancel credit cards etc. in a handy place where you can find them easily.
• Consider carrying a photo copy of your passport as well as all other wallet items when traveling. 
• Shred all documents that contain personal information before putting in the garbage

For more information on Identity Theft visit: www.ConsumerInformation.ca

Consumer Measures Committee has a Business Identity Theft Checklist on their website. For more advice and tools on ID theft visit www.cmcweb.ca/idtheft

Playing It Safe: How to Protect Your Credit History