HOW DO I PROTECT MYSELF AGAINST IDENTITY THEFT
Protect Your Personal Information
- Never give out your personal information by phone, internet, or mail unless you initiate the contact
- Shield your PIN, and never lend cards
- Immediately report missing credit or debit cards
- Carry only the ID you need
- Put other ID documents (eg. SIN, birth certificate, passport) in a safe place
- Shred or destroy documents with personal information
- SIN is only for employment and tax reporting. You do not have to give out your SIN number
- Ask about the security of your information at work, with businesses, and charities
Guard your Computer and its Information
- Select a complex password of letters, numbers and symbols
- Install firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware and security software, and update often
- Don't try, don't buy, and don't reply to spam or emails that ask for banking information
- For online transactions, look for https://, a closed lock or an unbroken key icon
- When disposing of harddrives, use overwrite software or destroy the drive
WHAT DO I DO IF I AM A VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT
Report the fraud
The first step in reporting identity theft is to file a police report. It is very important that there is an actual documented police file number in order for you to provide to creditors and reporting agencies. File the police report in the jurisdiction that the identity theft happened. For example, if you were on holidays in Toronto and your wallet went missing, file the report there. Or if your purse went missing from your house, file the report at the local police station.
Once you have a police report there are a number of people that you need to contact to minimize and stop the identity theft from continuing. By contacting the following, it will become more difficult for the individual committing the identity theft to continue. The different companies/agencies you need to contact are as follows:
Equifax: 1-800-465-7166 option 2 - Use this number to place an alert on your credit file
Equifax: 1-800-465-7166 option 3 - Use this number if you already know that you are a victim of identity theft or fraud
Trans Union: 1-800-663-9980 - This is for the Fraud Victim Assistance Department (FVAD)
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: 1-888-495-8501
Social Insurance Fraud Line (Service Canada): 1-800-206-7218
Obtain a copy of your credit report
It is important to review your credit report and report any unrecognized activity. Pay close attention to the inquiries section of your report as this will tell you if the identity theives have been attempting to access new credit with your identity. Make sure to contact any creditors that you do not recognize, inform them immediately that you have been a victim of identity theft, and give them the police report number. You can order a copy of your credit report online or by faxing in a written request for your free yearly credit report. Please be aware that the free report will take a few weeks to arrive. It is very important to have a fraud alert placed on both of your credit files to ensure that creditors are aware that you have been a victim of identity theft, and that they should verify the identity of the person applying for credit either by way of a telephone call or other means.
Contact your creditors
If your credit card or credit card statements have been comromised in any way, it is very important that you notify the credit card companies immediately upon becoming aware. Provide then with the police file number. They will cancel all of your cards and re-issue new ones. You will be able to go through recent charges with them and advise if any are not yours. This information can be very useful to the police to locate the culprets.
