Sadly, id 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 larger.
Identification theft is now not simply somebody combing by way of your paper mail for private info. That also occurs, however what’s extra probably now’s that your info is being stolen on-line by way of hacking or a phishing rip-off, the place you’re unknowingly giving a scammer private info. Right here’s what you want to know—plus the way to stop additional ID theft.
What’s id theft?
Identification theft is when criminals steal your private or monetary info, like your social insurance coverage quantity (SIN), bank card quantity or checking account info, and use it to open new bank cards, apply for presidency advantages, make purchases, or entry your financial institution accounts and steal funds.
Beforehand, id thieves operated primarily by stealing envelopes from mailboxes and going by way of recycling bins to search out delicate paperwork. However criminals have expanded deep into the digital world. They typically use synthetic intelligence (AI) to focus on a whole lot or hundreds of individuals on the identical time, impersonating a authorities or financial institution official utilizing cellphone calls, texts or emails to “phish” for private info. Scammers additionally use refined digital instruments to hack accounts over public Wi-Fi, that means they’ll acquire entry to your financial institution accounts and extra. Anybody is usually a goal of id theft.
Find out how to report id theft in Canada
For those who suspect your id has been stolen, don’t watch for verification—report the crime to your native police. For those who consider your SIN has been stolen, report this to Service Canada by calling 1-866-274-6627. You must also contact the CAFC so it may compile statistics on how prevalent this downside is. Fill out info on-line within the Fraud Reporting System or contact the CAFC at 1-888-495-8501.
Then you want to 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 identify. Additionally pay shut consideration to your credit score scores and credit score studies, additionally out there by way of Equifax, for indicators of suspicious exercise.
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Equifax Full Safety is a credit score and cybersecurity safety service designed to assist Canadians spot the indicators of id fraud sooner.
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It’s confirmed, your id has been stolen—now what?
As soon as your id has been stolen, you’re more likely to be focused once more. When scammers steal somebody’s id, they typically promote the information to a 3rd occasion, who will attempt to contact the sufferer—they’re now seen as a straightforward goal for different crimes.
It’s possible you’ll end up on the receiving finish of extra phishing scams from unsolicited numbers or pretend financial institution workers. Plus, when you place protecting measures at your banks and credit score bureau, it might 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 might even be difficult so that you can open new bank cards and apply for loans. And this will have an effect on your monetary life for a really very long time—probably years.