Sadly, id theft is on the rise in Canada. In 2023, over 11,000 circumstances of ID fraud have 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 not simply somebody combing by your paper mail for private data. That also occurs, however what’s extra doubtless now’s that your data is being stolen on-line by hacking or a phishing rip-off, the place you might be unknowingly giving a scammer private data. Right here’s what you might want to know—plus how one can stop additional ID theft.
What’s id 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, id thieves operated primarily by stealing envelopes from mailboxes and going by 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 lots of or 1000’s of individuals on the similar time, impersonating a authorities or financial institution official utilizing cellphone calls, texts or emails to “phish” for private data. Scammers additionally use subtle digital instruments to hack accounts over public Wi-Fi, that means they will achieve entry to your financial institution accounts and extra. Anybody generally is a goal of id theft.
Learn how to report id theft in Canada
If you happen to suspect your id has been stolen, don’t look ahead to verification—report the crime to your native police. If you happen to 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 will probably compile statistics on how prevalent this drawback is. Fill out data on-line within the Fraud Reporting System or contact the CAFC at 1-888-495-8501.
Then you might 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 reviews, additionally accessible by Equifax, for indicators of suspicious exercise.
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It’s confirmed, your id has been stolen—now what?
As soon as your id has been stolen, you’re prone to be focused once more. When scammers steal somebody’s id, they usually promote the info to a 3rd celebration, who will attempt to contact the sufferer—they’re now seen as a simple goal for different crimes.
You could end up on the receiving finish of extra phishing scams from unsolicited numbers or pretend financial institution staff. Plus, when you place protecting measures at your banks and credit score bureau, it could be tougher so that you can open a brand new account—you’ll 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 will have an effect on your monetary life for a really very long time—probably years.