Identity Theft Overview Webinar Presentation Slides

2010, Community Law School Sarnia-Lambton Inc.This webinar is brought to you by CLEONet www.cleonet.ca CLEONet is a web site of legal information for community workers and advocates who

2010, Community Law School (Sarnia-Lambton) Inc.

This webinar is brought to you by

CLEONet

www.cleonet.ca

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

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?

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

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

email 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

 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:

anything to win a prize in a contest

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

2) email

a hijacked account is used to ask friends or family to send money

The results of the scam

 By the end of October 2009:

= $317,732.63 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?

at www.phonebusters.com

there was a change of address reported Notify them that you are a victim

be sure no one has applied for a new passport under your name you can visit their website at

www.ppt.gc.ca or call 1.888.567.6868

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 www.cleonet.ca

For more public legal information webinars

visit:

http://www.cleonet.ca/training