This is one of the articles published in our last issue of        Le Préventif (December 2008).

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Be careful about identity theft!

Identity theft occurs when someone steals your personal information to commit a crime like fraud or theft. Here are some tips to minimize the risk to be victim of identity theft.

Protect your personal information and documents

- Never give personal information by phone, Internet or mail unless you initiate the contact and you know the company very well. Identity thieves may pose as representatives of financial institutions, Internet service providers or even government agencies to trick you into revealing identifying information.

- Shred your documents with personal information before recycling or throwing them away.

- Carry only the identification documents that you need during the day. Keep your social insurance number, birth certificate and passport locked in a safe place.

- Pay attention to your invoicing cycle, check regularly your bank statement and bills. Report any discrepancies on your statements to your financial institution right away. Once a year, get a copy of your credit report from each of the major credit reporting agencies. Furthermore, keep and eye on your insurance and mortgage. Don’t forget to keep your bills.

- Keep a list of the names, account numbers and expiration dates of your cards in a secure place. This will help you when alerting your credit grantors about a lost or stolen card.

- Beware of mail, phone or Internet promotions that ask for personal information. Identity thieves may use phony offers to get you to give them your information. Some thieves may let you believe that, to be able to receive or collect the prize, you must pay a series of bogus taxes and fees. It is important to know that if you win a legitimate prize, there are no taxes or fees to be paid in order to receive a prize in Canada.

Guard your computer and its information

- To protect your personal information on your computer, choose a complex password of letters, numbers and symbols. Don’t use an automatic login feature that saves your user name and password and keep them secret.

- Install firewall and virus protection software and be sure to update them regularly.

- Pay attention to fake Web sites. They are designed to trick consumers and collect their personal information. Be cautious when clicking on a link or an unknown Web site or unfamiliar e-mail. The link may take you to a fraudulent site. Clues to fraudulent e-mails include a lack of personal greetings, spelling or grammatical errors and using a name that looks like a real institution.

- For online transactions, make sure you are on a secure web server by checking the beginning of the web address in your browser’s address bar - it should be "https://. There should also be a closed lock or an unbroken key icon in the lower-right hand portion of your screen.

- When disposing of hard drives, use overwrite software or destroy the drive.

What to do in case of identity theft

- If you are the victim of identity theft, there are steps you can take to minimize damage and help prevent any further fraud or theft. As soon as you discover the fraud or theft, take the following steps to report it.

- Call your financial institutions. Ask them to cancel your cards and re-issue new ones. If you do not report a lost or stolen card immediately you could be liable for any losses.

- Contact your local police. If a report is filed, be sure to include the police report number they give you in all correspondence you have relating to the theft.

- Contact Canada's main credit reporting agencies : Trans Union and Equifax. Ask each agency to send you a copy of your credit report, and discuss with them whether you should have a fraud alert placed on your file.

- To help stop fraud, be sure to report the incident to Phonebusters, Canada's national anti-fraud call centre. Phonebusters gathers information and intelligence about identity theft and provides advice and assistance to victims.

- Replace your identification cards like health, driver's license, or social insurance number.

Source : « Consumer identity theft kit »,

http://cmcweb.ca/epic/site/cmc-cmc.nsf/en/fe00084e.html