Edmonton Police Detective Bill Allen said Alberta has been “a target area” for fraudsters because of its traditionally healthy economy. (Photo: Edmonton Metro News)
In 2014, people had their identities stolen in Edmonton at a higher rate than any other major Canadian city.
An analysis of Statistics Canada crime data revealed that Alberta’s capital city had 14.2 reports of identity theft per 100,000 people last year — far above Ottawa’s rate of 1.0 despite having a similar population.
Edmonton’s rate has also been rising steadily over the past four years. Back in 2010, the city only had a rate of 1.4 per 100,000.
According to Detective Bill Allen from the Edmonton Police Service, Alberta has been “a target area” for fraudsters because of its traditionally healthy economy.
“It’s ripe for that type of a scenario because you have a lot of people moving from other parts of Canada to Alberta because the job market was much more vibrant here,” he said.
Identity theft refers to stealing someone’s personal information — like a birth date or social insurance number — for criminal purposes. Offenders use many techniques to steal ID, ranging from phishing and hacking online, to mail theft on the ground.
The motivation is money, said RCMP Corporal Josée Rousseau, who works at the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, a government support service for victims of identity theft and fraud. Once stolen identification is used to open a new bank account, for example, then the case becomes one of identity fraud as well as theft.
The centre’s 2014 Annual Statistical Report states 20,611 Canadians fell prey to identity fraud last year and collectively lost nearly $10.5 million.
Allen said an organized network is behind most of these incidents. While stolen money is sometimes used to support habits like drugs or gambling, he said it often ends up in the United States or overseas.
These crimes leave victims in a huge mess, said Rousseau.
“The feeling is a violation, it’s a fear, it’s a big stress. It’s hard to get out of it. There’s a lot of work to be done to be able to get your name back on track.”
Rousseau said the Anti-Fraud Centre gives victims the information they need to regain control of their finances. They recommend reporting the crime to local police and contacting a credit reporting agency like Equifax or TransUnion.
But sometimes a call from a credit agency is a warning sign that identity theft has occurred.
In many cases a victim finds out after being notified about credit checks they didn’t authorize, said Joseph Webb, who works in the credit card industry and sells a product that alerts customers to signs of identity theft.
Webb was not authorized to speak on behalf of his company but instead offered his personal views.
Webb said if someone don’t monitor their credit history regularly, it could take years before they realize their identity has been stolen.
According to Allen, the majority of victims will never find out how their personal information was obtained, but sometimes the answers come to light.
About two years ago, Allen solved a case in which an Edmonton car dealership employee stole loan documents left behind by clients who didn’t follow through with a purchase. The employee then sold the documents to “a guy on the street” who used the personal information they contained to manufacture fake IDs and commit fraud.
Although Allen believes the dealership didn’t protect those documents properly, he said people should keep track of who they’re giving their personal information to and retrieve any important records once they’re no longer needed.
Webb said there isn’t a lot of demand for the prevention service he sells, which tells him people don’t think seriously about identity theft and the consequences.
“It is something I think people need to be educated more about,” he said. “People think bad things won’t happen to them and so they don’t need to prevent it.”
“Identity theft can take years to fix and it can actually have real-world effects.”