Recession Makes Canadians Easy Pickings for Identity Theft

During a recession, you want to keep a tight grip on your finances. And yet the recession is proving to be an easy time for Canadians to lose money due to identity theft.

In fact, Canadian victims of ID theft have lost almost as much money in the first half of 2009 as they did for the entire year of 2007.

According to statistics from Phonebusters, the anti-fraud call centre run jointly by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Competition Bureau, and Ontario Provincial Police, the recession is making a big impact when it comes to ID theft:

• In the first six months of 2009 alone, Canadians reported losing about $5.2 million due to identity theft. 
• In the entire year of 2007, Canadians complained that they had lost about $6.5 million.
• In 2008, when the recession hit, Canadians lost $9.6 million.
• If the 2009 figures continue at the same rate, Canadians may lose over $10.4 million this year.

"Fraud does tend to increase in economic downturns," Ian Nielsen-Jones, assistant deputy commissioner of the Competition Bureau, told the Canadian Press earlier this month.

In tough times, normally vigilant people may panic and make bad decisions. Other people, barely surviving in good times, may turn to a life of crime when the economy tanks. Put them together, and you have an economic climate with more people trying to steal a buck and more people with their defenses down. 

Phonebusters’ statistics show almost 6,700 reported victims so far this year. This is on target to be higher than previous years:  there were 11,381 for the entire year of 2008, and 10,327 for the entire year of 2007.

Don't become another statistic

So what can you do to prevent becoming one of Phonebusters’ statistics? Always be cautious with your personal information, no matter how dire your financial situation may have become. If an employment or investment offer seems too good to be true, it probably is, especially if they promise a lot of money for easy work, but "need" your personal information to go ahead.

You might not especially enjoy speaking with your bank or credit card company right now, but make sure to check up with them if you notice any strange activity with your accounts. Also remember to phone your financial institutions directly; do not give out account information to callers who claim to be representing your bank and certainly don’t respond to any emails requesting your financial information, no matter how legitimate they may look!

Check your credit report regularly for accounts you don't recognize or credit checks you did not authorize. Both could be signs that an identity thief is targeting you. 

Continue to practice the best ways to prevent ID theft. Phonebusters recommends the following:

• Before you reveal any personal information, find out how it will be used and who will have access to it.
• Know approximately when your bills should arrive, and follow up if they arrive late or don’t arrive at all.
• Don’t carry a lot of identification with you, and never carry your Social Insurance Number (SIN) card.
• Don’t use passwords that are easy to guess, such as your mother’s maiden name or phone number.
• Shred receipts, insurance forms, credit card offers and other personal information.

Phonebusters recognizes that you can never completely eliminate the possibility of ID theft, but that’s no reason not to try. "You can make yourself a harder target," they advise on their website, "and that’s the best defense."