MANITOULIN – Crime Prevention Week runs from November 2-8, 2014. The Manitoulin Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is encouraging all residents to play their role in reducing crime by completing a few simple tasks. Here is the Crime Prevention Week “topic of the day”.
Identity theft has been called the fastest growing crime in North America and involves the acquisition of information or documents of a living or deceased person. This information is then used to commit crimes.
Typically, identity theft includes fraudulently obtaining or forging government documents such as drivers’ licenses, health cards, SIN cards and birth certificates. A compromised identity can have profound consequences on individuals, businesses and government. Being a victim can affect your job, reputation, credit rating, benefits or access to your own business and financial accounts.
What can you do to protect yourself from being a victim of identity theft:
Guard Your Personal Information
- Never give personal information by phone, internet or mail unless you initiate the contact.
- Shield your debit card PIN and never lend your cards.
- Report missing credit or debit cards.
- Shred documents with personal information.
- Your SIN should only be used for employment and tax information.
Guard Your Computer and its Information
- Select complex passwords combining letters, numbers and symbols.
- Install firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware and security software.
If you discover that you have become a victim of a fraud or scam, contact the local police immediately to report the crime. If your credit cards or bank accounts are involved, notify them as soon as you can so they can assist you. Put a fraud alert on your credit report by contacting Equifax at 1-800-465-7166 and/or Trans Union at 1-877-525-3823.
For more information about many the many types of fraud and what to watch for, you can contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre 1-888-495-8501 or on the web at www.antifradcentre.ca or www.phonebusters.com/english/home-eng.html
You can also check the helpful Crime Prevention Tip Sheets at www.opp.ca .
