Law Talk: Who is who? Protecting yourself from identity theft
With the explosion of Internet traffic,
incidents of identity theft have increased
dramatically. The Canadian Council of
Better Business Bureaus estimates that identity
theft costs Canadian consumers, banks,
businesses and credit card firms over $2 billion
annually. What is identity theft, and
how can you protect yourself against it?
What is identity theft?
Identity theft occurs when an individual collects and uses another person's personal information (name, address, SIN, date of birth, etc.) without that person's knowledge or consent. The identity thief may use this information to open bank accounts, to apply for loans or credit cards, or to go on shopping sprees using the victim's funds or credit. Identity thieves can cost a victim significant amounts of lost time and money. You may be a victim of identity theft if you notice unusual activity within your bank or other financial accounts. Your statements may show withdrawals and transfers that you did not make. You may receive calls from collections agencies or creditors about unpaid balances that you do not owe. Finally, you may find yourself being rejected for credit cards or loans for reasons not matching your known financial position.
How can you prevent identity theft?
Securing your sensitive information and making it inaccessible to others is the most effective way to prevent identity theft. Identity thieves obtain information from numerous sources, including wallets, purses, homes, vehicles, computers, mailboxes and by telephone. Thieves may remove documents containing personal information from garbage or recycling bins. Shred all such documents before disposing of them. Never loan your debit or credit card to someone, and never give anyone your PIN number. Avoid posting personal information on websites like Facebook or MySpace, and always be sure to run up-to-date antivirus software. Finally, unless you initiated the contact with a known and trusted person or entity, never give personal information over the telephone, through the mail, or in response to emails. Remember that legitimate vendors and organizations will not request this personal information through email.
Which laws deal with identity theft?
The Canadian Criminal Code was recently amended to include three new criminal offences related to identity theft, all of which carry five-year maximum prison sentences. The offences include obtaining and possessing identity information with the intent to use it dishonestly, trafficking in identity information, and unlawfully possessing someone else's government-issued identity documents. The Criminal Code allows a court to order an identity thief to repay a victim for actual money or property lost. The court may also order the thief to compensate a victim for costs associated with the effort to rehabilitate his or her identity.
What should I do if I am a victim of identity theft?
If you are a victim of identity theft, you should take immediate action. Contact each of your financial and credit card institutions, and any other company that you know provided the thief with credit, money, goods or services. Also contact Canada's two national credit reporting agencies: TransUnion and Equifax. Report the incident to your local police department, and get a copy of any available police report. Finally, report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. If credit cards or government-issued documents have been lost or stolen, you should notify the issuing authority immediately in order for them to cancel the card or document and issue you a new one. The "lost wallet" site at tinyurl.com/cdn-lostwallet has links to key federal and provincial document issuers to assist with this process.
For more information, we encourage you to contact the Ministry of Consumer Services at ontario.ca/mcs or toll free at 1-800-889-9768, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website at antifraudcentrecentreantifraude.ca. In addition, you can find more information about consumer protection topics at any time in a series of Community Law School webinars archived online at yourlegalrights.on.ca/trainingtopic/consumer-law. Be empowered, and stay tuned.
This column is brought to you by Community Law School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc., and Community Legal Services and Pro Bono Students Canada at Western University, with financial support from the Law Foundation of Ontario. It provides legal information only. The information is accurate as of the date of publication. Laws change frequently so we caution readers from relying on this information if some time has passed since publication. If you need specific legal advice please contact a lawyer, your community legal clinic, Justice Net at 1-866-919-3219 or the Law Society Referral Service at 1-800-268-8326.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
What is identity theft?
Identity theft occurs when an individual collects and uses another person's personal information (name, address, SIN, date of birth, etc.) without that person's knowledge or consent. The identity thief may use this information to open bank accounts, to apply for loans or credit cards, or to go on shopping sprees using the victim's funds or credit. Identity thieves can cost a victim significant amounts of lost time and money. You may be a victim of identity theft if you notice unusual activity within your bank or other financial accounts. Your statements may show withdrawals and transfers that you did not make. You may receive calls from collections agencies or creditors about unpaid balances that you do not owe. Finally, you may find yourself being rejected for credit cards or loans for reasons not matching your known financial position.
How can you prevent identity theft?
Securing your sensitive information and making it inaccessible to others is the most effective way to prevent identity theft. Identity thieves obtain information from numerous sources, including wallets, purses, homes, vehicles, computers, mailboxes and by telephone. Thieves may remove documents containing personal information from garbage or recycling bins. Shred all such documents before disposing of them. Never loan your debit or credit card to someone, and never give anyone your PIN number. Avoid posting personal information on websites like Facebook or MySpace, and always be sure to run up-to-date antivirus software. Finally, unless you initiated the contact with a known and trusted person or entity, never give personal information over the telephone, through the mail, or in response to emails. Remember that legitimate vendors and organizations will not request this personal information through email.
Which laws deal with identity theft?
The Canadian Criminal Code was recently amended to include three new criminal offences related to identity theft, all of which carry five-year maximum prison sentences. The offences include obtaining and possessing identity information with the intent to use it dishonestly, trafficking in identity information, and unlawfully possessing someone else's government-issued identity documents. The Criminal Code allows a court to order an identity thief to repay a victim for actual money or property lost. The court may also order the thief to compensate a victim for costs associated with the effort to rehabilitate his or her identity.
What should I do if I am a victim of identity theft?
If you are a victim of identity theft, you should take immediate action. Contact each of your financial and credit card institutions, and any other company that you know provided the thief with credit, money, goods or services. Also contact Canada's two national credit reporting agencies: TransUnion and Equifax. Report the incident to your local police department, and get a copy of any available police report. Finally, report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. If credit cards or government-issued documents have been lost or stolen, you should notify the issuing authority immediately in order for them to cancel the card or document and issue you a new one. The "lost wallet" site at tinyurl.com/cdn-lostwallet has links to key federal and provincial document issuers to assist with this process.
For more information, we encourage you to contact the Ministry of Consumer Services at ontario.ca/mcs or toll free at 1-800-889-9768, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website at antifraudcentrecentreantifraude.ca. In addition, you can find more information about consumer protection topics at any time in a series of Community Law School webinars archived online at yourlegalrights.on.ca/trainingtopic/consumer-law. Be empowered, and stay tuned.
This column is brought to you by Community Law School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc., and Community Legal Services and Pro Bono Students Canada at Western University, with financial support from the Law Foundation of Ontario. It provides legal information only. The information is accurate as of the date of publication. Laws change frequently so we caution readers from relying on this information if some time has passed since publication. If you need specific legal advice please contact a lawyer, your community legal clinic, Justice Net at 1-866-919-3219 or the Law Society Referral Service at 1-800-268-8326.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
