Over 1.5 million Canadians victims of identity theft: McMaster study

HAMILTON (CUP) – Last year, 1.7 million Canadians – about 6.5 per cent of Canada’s total population – were victims of identity fraud, according to a recent survey conducted by the McMaster eBusiness Research Centre at the DeGroote School of Business in Hamilton, Ont.
The survey, which polled close to 3,000 Canadians, showed that total losses mounted to approximately $150 million, while another $20 million were spent resolving the cases.
More than half of these Canadians did not even know how their information could have come into the possession of fraudsters.
Identity fraud can take a number of forms. One of the most common methods being debit card skimming, where debit machines are rigged to obtain a card’s information for criminal use.
Impersonation, where criminals apply for new bank accounts, lines of credit, mortgages, and government benefits under someone else’s name, is also a leading cause of identity theft in Canada.
A third major example of identity theft is credit card fraud, where a card’s information is used by third parties to make purchases. More than half of the study’s participants reported being the victims of such fraud.
“To solve the problem, it’s going to take more than just consumers,” said Susan Sproule, a lead researcher with the McMaster eBusiness Research Centre.
“Corporations are going to have to change the way they do things, and governments are going to have to make new laws.”
Often, people are not even aware their identities have been compromised until long after the crime has taken place – when they try to apply for lines of credit or mortgages and are turned down because of delinquent loan payments for purchases they never made.
Victims may catch the problem earlier if they request personal credit reports from their banks, but about half of the participants in the survey never had.
Historically, a quarter of identity fraud cases were committed by someone known to the victim, says the study. However this is almost never the case now because criminal methods have become more advanced.
Also, only 13 per cent of identity theft cases are reported to police.
“We actually found people are doing a lot of good things,” said Sproule, commenting on the prevention of identity theft. “About half of the people we surveyed had stopped carrying certain pieces of ID with them.”
It is not just a credit card or debit card that brings risk to the owner when lost, but any piece of identification containing personal information, such as a health card.
“Leave those things securely at home,” advised Sproule.
As well, 79 per cent of those polled reported shredding their important financial documents.
Many consumers are becoming increasingly wary of online shopping. About one in five told pollsters they have reduced their online shopping.
Online purchases in Canada amounted to $12.8 billion last year – a 61 per cent increase from 2005.
The study showed, though, that the members of the survey’s sample who blamed an in-person transaction for causing identity fraud against them was nearly double that of those who blamed online businesses.