• Opening new bank accounts and writing bad cheques;
• Establishing new credit card accounts and defaulting on bill payments;
• Obtaining mortgages, personal loans or car loans;
• Getting cash advances;
• Establishing a cellular phone or utility service and running up bills;
• Changing your credit card mailing address, obtaining supplementary credit cards on your accounts and charging purchases on your existing accounts;
• Obtaining employment; and
• Renting an apartment

If this happens, you could be left with the bills, charges, bad cheques, and taxes. More importantly, since bills are often sent to a different address, victims of identity theft are often not aware that debt is mounting in their name until a collection department tracks them down. As a result, it can take months before the victim is aware of any wrongdoing, and once they realize they have been a victim of identity theft, it can take months to correct the damage.

How Do Criminals Steal an Identity?
Here are just a few examples of how identity theft is committed:

1. "Dumpster Diving" - Thieves rummage through trash cans, or garbage dumpsters, searching for pieces of unshredded personal information that they can use to assume your identity, or to sell to others.
2. Mail Theft - Crooks seek out and steal from unattended or unlocked mailboxes to obtain newly issued credit cards, bank statements, and tax forms. Letters that contain "pre-approved credit card" offers, if not shredded or destroyed, can be sent back to the issuing bank requesting that the card be re-sent to the recipient (i.e. you), but at a new address of the identity thief's choosing.
3. Inside Sources - A dishonest employee with access to personal records, payroll information, insurance files, account numbers and/or sales records can cause a great deal of damage to your personal finances.
4. Imposters - Many identity theft victims have been taken in by an individual who fraudulently posed as someone who had a legitimate reason to access the victim's personal information (e.g. landlord asking for background information, an employer, etc.)
5. Online Data - On the simplest level, thieves access public databases that consumers share through phone listings, directories, memberships, etc.
6. E-mail and Web site "Phishing" or "Brand Spoofing" - More sophisticated criminals, who want to obtain data from people online, use a technique known as phishing. This involves creating businesses, such as financial institutions or auction sites. Consumers who receive e-mails claiming to be from a legitimate business are often directed to a Web site, appearing to be from that business. Once on this fraudulent site, consumers are directed to enter personal data.
   Criminals who create these e-mails and Web sites have no real connection with these businesses, and their sole purpose is to obtain consumers' personal data to engage in fraudulent activity.
7. Direct Access to Personal Documents in the Home - Unfortunately, there are identity thieves who can gain legitimate access into someone's home and personal information through household work, babysitting, healthcare, friends, or roommates.
8. Purse/Wallet Theft - Stolen purses and wallets usually contain bank cards and personal identification. A thief could use this information to obtain credit under the victim's name or sell the information to criminal groups.
9. Hacking - Criminals have been known to hack into computer databases at e-commerce merchants, credit card processors, or payment gateway service providers to gather personal information which they can then use to assume someone's identity.

Guarding Against Identity Theft . . .

Reprinted with permission © VISA Canada Association