2010, Community Law School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc. This webinar is brought to you by CLEONet CLEONet is a web site of legal information for community workers and advocates who work with low-income and disadvantaged communities in Ontario.

About our presenter… Daniel Chometa is the Community Outreach Manager for Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada. Dan’s work is dedicated to generating awareness of personal finance issues and solutions. He has spearheaded financial literacy initiatives with the United Way of Greater Toronto and the Toronto Adult Student Association. Dan is a graduate of Mount Allison University.

Identity Theft and Fraud Presented By: Daniel Chometa Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada

What is Identity Theft?  The theft, misrepresentation or hijacking of another person or business’ Identity  It is a growing problem in Canada  Fraud  Provides an effective means to commit other crimes using your name.

Two Main Types of Identity Theft  Account Takeovers  Card Skimming  Non-Receipts  Card Replacements  Unauthorized Use  Phishing  Application Fraud  Loans  Bank Accounts  Credit Cards  Mortgages  Cell Phones

The Facts  In 2002 The Phone Busters National Call Centre received 7629 identity theft complaints by Canadians. Total Loss = $8.5 Million  In the First Quarter of 2003, there were 2,250 complaints. Total Loss = $5.3 Million  Equifax and Trans Union receive 1400 – 1800 identity theft calls per month.

How Does It Happen?  Fraudsters are innovative  Happens though computer use, , snail mail, transactions over the phone, even material taken from your trash!  Consumer is not aware of potential fraud

What Can You Do?  Protect yourself  Minimize the chances of having your identity stolen  Be Aware of what is happening  Be A smart consumer  Stay one step ahead and protect yourself

The Less Information that’s out there the better!  Carry only the cards you need in your wallet. Leave extra credit cards, social insurance cards locked up at home.  Make a copy of all of your cards and lock the copy up in your house.  Don’t let a store clerk write down your credit card #  Don’t print your SIN or Drivers License # on your cheques  When asked for your SIN always ask if you can provide another number  Don’t Use ABM tellers from financial institutions you don’t recognize.

Protect yourself at work  Keep your purse/wallet locked up at the office at all times.  Workplace theft is more common than most people realize  Ask your employer for a safe place to lock up your things if one is not provided for you.  Ask your employer about security procedures for personal files  DO NOT log onto personal financial websites using company computers.  DO NOT set passwords to auto remember.  And do not store personal information in your desk or on your office computer at work.

Protect yourself at home  Protect your mail, get a locked mail box  Never have new cheques sent to your home in the mail. Pick them up from the bank  Buy a shredder to shred personal documents  Check your credit report at least once a year  Keep your personal information in a locked room or a filing cabinet.

Protect Yourself Online  Use A Firewall – this will prevent Phishing attempts  Choose good passwords – Use an alpha numeric password and change them frequently  Choose a good username – do not use your address as a username (Hannah1199)  Beware of Phishing – Pay Pal/Best Buy/EBay/RBC ect

What does Phishing Look Like?

Signs that you may be a Victim   A bank or cell phone company contacts you about suspicious transactions   You start receiving suspicious calls for more information about yourself   A collection agency calls you about   an unknown debt   Unknown items appear on one   of your statements Source: Consumer Measures Committee

  You are denied credit for unknown reasons   Bills and statements are not arriving in the mail   Your credit report has unknown or inaccurate entries   Bills or statements arrive for unknown accounts Source: Consumer Measures Committee

Current Threats  The Prize Pitch: –Remember that you should never have to buy anything to win a prize in a contest –Be careful of the sweepstakes contest, you will be contacted by a judge border services person or a lawyer. They will tell you that the money must be sent up front for tax reasons.

Current Threats  Emergency or Grandparent Scam –Happens over the phone –May use accident or travel as an excuse –2 methods used  1) typical:  Do you know who this is?  don’t tell anyone! 2) 2) a hijacked account is used to ask friends or family to send money.

The results of the scam  By the end of October 2009: –Grandparent scam had 278 failed attempts –Had 88 Successful attempts total loss reported = $317, Average of $3,610 per victim.  In 2008 total loss on the same scam was $157,452  December 2009 OPP warns of the scam

What do you do if you are a Victim?  Contact police – file a police report  Notify the Credit Bureaus – Equifax, Trans Union  Contact your banking institution  Contact Phone Busters – or on the web at  Investigate new accounts – review your credit report  Check your Address – check with Canada Post to see if there was a change of address reported. Notify them that you are a victim  Check your passport – check with passport Canada to be sure no one has applied for a new passport under your name. you can visit their website at or call

2010, Community Law School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc. This webinar was brought to you by CLEONet For more information visit the Consumer Law section of CLEONet at For more public legal information webinars visit: