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What is Identity Theft? Identity theft refers to the preparatory stage of acquiring and collecting someone else's personal information for criminal purposes. As of January 8, 2010, Senate Bill S-4 became law, making it illegal to possess another person's identity information for criminal purposes. What is Identity Fraud? Identity fraud is the actual deceptive use of the identity information of another person (living or dead) in connection with various frauds (including for example personating another person and the misuse of debit card or credit card data). Facts Identity theft techniques can range from unsophisticated, such as dumpster diving and mail theft, to more elaborate schemes. Technology, mainly the Internet, facilitates more elaborate schemes, such as skimming, phishing, and hacking as criminals gather profiles of potential victims. Computer spywares and viruses, designed to help thieves acquire personal information, are an emerging trend. Victims of identity theft or fraud can experience financial loss and difficulty obtaining credit or restoring their "good name". The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) maintains statistics on the complaints they receive. In 2009, the CACF received identity fraud reports from 11,095 Canadian victims, totaling a loss of more than 10 million dollars. This represents an increase of more than 1 million dollars of what was reported in 2008. Payment card fraud was the most commonly reported incident, and yet, many instances of identity theft and fraud go unreported. Information sought Identity thieves are looking for the following information: full name date of birth Social Insurance Numbers full address mother’s maiden name username and password for online services driver's license number personal identification numbers (PIN) credit card information (numbers, expiry dates and the last three digits printed on the signature panel) bank account numbers signature passport number The new legislation on identity theft provides a complete list of identity documents. The new section 402.1 of the Criminal Code lists the definition and examples of identity information. What your information could be used for Criminals can use your stolen or reproduced personal or financial information to: access your bank accounts open new bank accounts transfer bank balances apply for loans, credit cards and other goods and services make purchases hide their criminal activities obtain passports or receive government benefits Using identity theft to facilitate organized criminal and terrorist activities also appears to be a growing trend.
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ID Theft, ID Theft Protection, Identity Theft Protection, Protect Your ID,
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