Don’t lose your identity!

If it looks too good to be true, it is! Whether conducted over the telephone, through the Internet, or by mail, fraud is a serious international problem, and identity theft is the fastest-growing type of fraud. Everyone is at risk. Scam artists are up-to-date and well organized, and they will use any number of techniques to try and steal your identity.

On March 16, 2006, Protection Services in partnership with the RCMP and the Ottawa Police held an event to help raise awareness about identity theft, as well as other types of fraud and to launch an informative guide developed by a student for students.

Mélanie Waite, a third-year honours student in biomedical sciences with a concentration in criminology, was hired by the Commercial Fraud Branch of the RCMP last June to create a student guide on personal information and scam protection. The guide is now available on the RCMP Web site under “Scams/Fraud” at www.rcmp.ca. Waite is expected to create other guides for adults, seniors and businesses.

How can you counter the fraud and identity theft? Here are a few useful tips pulled from RCMP pamphlets:

Be wary

• Get to know how much personal information is too much; don’t give more personal information than necessary.
   
• Do not be intimidated or tricked into providing personal information or money.
   
• Beware of phony employment offers or other types of offers seeking your personal information; if they sound too good to be true, they probably are!

Always take precautions

• Always protect your personal identification number (PIN) and don’t write it down —memorize it!
   
• Do not carry your social insurance number (SIN) card, passport, or birth certificate with you all the time; keep only the essential cards in your wallet.
   
• Always keep an eye on your Interac and credit cards when using them.
   
• Shred non-truncated (where your full card number appears) receipts and all personal information before disposal; this also applies to junk mail such as unsolicited credit card offers.
   
• Empty your mailbox regularly and lock it.

Be prudent online

• Know how to protect your computer and behave safely online.
   
• Never send personal information by e-mail.
  
• Properly log off from your online accounts, especially when using a public-access computer.

More information about identity theft is also available online at www.phonebusters.com and at www.recol.ca.

Protection Services can provide a RCMP pamphlet about fraud (Fraud, Recognize it. Report it. Stop it). Contact them at njacob@uOttawa.ca.