Identity theft

Halloween, masquerade balls, Clark Kent / Superman – sometimes we pretend to be someone else. But when it comes to people stealing your personal information to commit fraud or crime, that’s where we get serious.

Fraudsters use your personal information, without your knowledge or consent, to impersonate you. Identity fraud affected over 20,000 Canadians in 2014 with total reported dollar losses of more than 10 million dollars.

Phishing and Vishing are examples of identity theft.

Key pieces of your personal information are stolen and used to personate you and commit crimes in your name. Important documents may be stolen from your mail or garbage without your knowledge. Fraudsters are looking for the following:

• Name
• Social Insurance Number
• Banking information
• Birth certificates
• Credit card numbers
• Driver's license number
• Calling cards
• Passports

Once the information has been stolen, your identity could be used to conduct spending sprees, open bank accounts, redirect mail, or apply for loans, credit cards and social benefits.

• Your paper statement, online account summary or passbook lists transactions that you have not performed or authorized.
• A creditor informs you that an application for credit was received with your name and address, which you did not submit.
• You are receiving credit card statements or other bills in your name that do not belong to you.
• You are not receiving legitimate credit card or bank account statements or you notice that not all of your mail is delivered.
• A collection agency contacts you to inform you that they are collecting for a default account established with your identity.

Contact Coast Capital Savings immediately at 604.517.7000 (Metro Vancouver) or 250.483.7000 (Greater Victoria) or toll free at 1.888.517.7000 Mon-Sat, 8am-8pm; Sun, 9am-5:30pm. Call any creditors immediately if your bank cards, credit cards or identification are lost or stolen.

The following can be done:

• Access to your accounts can be protected
• You can put stop payments on missing cheques
• Your PIN and PAC can be changed
• You can open a new account(s) if appropriate

Be sure to indicate all the cards and accounts that are potentially compromised, including your MemberCard and credit cards.

Review all recent transactions on your account linked to those cards including chequing, savings, credit etc. Ensure that there hasn’t been a request for an address change, title change, PIN or PAC change, or new cards or cheques ordered to be sent to another address. You should also report this incident to the police and Canada’s credit reporting agencies at:

Trans Union Canada at www.transunion.ca 1-800-663-9980
Equifax Canada at www.equifax.ca 1-800-465-7166

For more information please visit The Consumer Measures Committee and Competition Bureau website.