Identity Theft - Fastest Growing White Collar Crime

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beaverlodge
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Identity Theft - Fastest Growing White Collar Crime

Post by beaverlodge »

One lady I know had her VISA card identity stolen. She does not know how it happened. Her only use ever of the card on the Web was for Air Canada. The Royal Bank called her and asked if she was making unusual purchases from the likes of Future Shop and others. The purchases were being made In Quebec, Toronto and Winnipeg.

A man just told me that both the Hong Kong Bank (HSBC) and Wells Fargo called him and someone was putting through an application for a line of credit in his name. Was it him?

Neither of these two have any idea how their identity was stolen. It did not come from lost cards. The police and authorities were also unable to provide any clues.

Anybody else have similar stories?
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Re: Identity Theft - Fastest Growing White Collar Crime

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Re: Identity Theft - Fastest Growing White Collar Crime

Post by Bylo Selhi »

beaverlodge wrote:Her only use ever of the card on the Web was for Air Canada... It did not come from lost cards.
So what? There are many ways to "steal" a credit card number without using the Internet.
The police and authorities were also unable to provide any clues.
I guess that makes them clueless. Literally. Any idiot, never mind a policeman or "authority" can learn how it's done by reading their local newpaper or spending a few minutes with Google.
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Post by Chuck »

I've started to think about adding one of these statements to my credit file(s) even though I have not been victimized (so far).
How do I add a fraud warning to my credit file?

Consumers may add a fraud warning by calling the Fraud Victim Assistance Department (FVAD) toll-free at 1-877-525-3823. The victim statement will remain on file for 5 years. However, if at any time you wish to have the statement removed, we require a written request with 2 pieces of acceptable identification to do so.


If I add the fraud warning will I still be able to obtain credit?

Yes. The statement requests that creditors evaluating your application contact you directly to ensure that you are the person applying for the credit. Once your identity is confirmed, the credit decision and terms are up to the creditor.
I got this from the Transunion website. I guess one would have to call Equifax as well. I almost never apply for credit these days so I'm thinking it might be a good idea just to provide another hurdle for fraudsters to clear and would not prove too much of an inconvenience.

Not quite sure how it would work though. I.E. What steps they go through to confirm my identity.

Something to consider for the paranoid among us.
beaverlodge
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Post by beaverlodge »

beaverlodge wrote:
Her only use ever of the card on the Web was for Air Canada... It did not come from lost cards.

So what? There are many ways to "steal" a credit card number without using the Internet.

Of course. That was her experience.
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The police and authorities were also unable to provide any clues.

I guess that makes them clueless. Literally. Any idiot, never mind a policeman or "authority" can learn how it's done by reading their local newpaper or spending a few minutes with Google.

No not clueless.

If it was as easy as you outline one would think there would in turn be more methods of prevention and fewer innocent idiots as you describe who are getting scammed.
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Post by Taggart »

Toronto Star

Homeowner horror

'My sense of security in Canada is gone' says Paul Reviczky, who learned about identity theft the hard way

Aug. 26, 2006. 07:47 AM
HAROLD LEVY
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Bylo Selhi
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

Taggart wrote:identity theft
This is less a case of identity theft than it is of real estate/title/mortgage fraud. See thread Real Estate Title Insurance.
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beaverlodge
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Post by beaverlodge »

So we have the banks, mortgage brokers, lawyers and real estate agents all parties one way or the other, or together, successfully pulling of this unfortunate but growing scam.

This at a time when there is increasing compliance requiring all kinds of identification to even open the simplest of accounts. Pictures, front and back of drivers licence etc are mandatory pieces of identification now needed.

I did note that in this case a lawyer was implicated on wrongdoing.
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Post by Bylo Selhi »

beaverlodge wrote:So we have the banks, mortgage brokers, lawyers and real estate agents all parties one way or the other, or together, successfully pulling of this unfortunate but growing scam.
There's no proof that any of those groups are intentionally committing fraud. Rather they're being used by the real fraudsters to facilitate these scams. As it happens, the way the laws are now written homeowners are on the hook even if they knew nothing about what was going on.
I did note that in this case a lawyer was implicated on wrongdoing.
In this instance it would seem that he's under investigation. However, if you go through the earlier thread I cited there have been cases where the lawyers were just as surprised by what happened as the victims.

The problem as I see it is that the laws need to be changed to protect the innocent victims and procedures need to be put into place to make such frauds more difficult to perpetrate.
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beaverlodge
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Post by beaverlodge »

The surprise is that a home that has been owned for years (the length of ownership does not matter) can be sold without the owners consent.

This would have to occur with the complicity of more than one of the following -real estate agents, financing, lawyers, registry.

The fact that this has been done, is being done and is continuing to be done is alarming.

Whether it is theft, fraud, both or anything else the legal commuity will tag on such actions, the ability to get away with this is shocking.

If they can do it with real estate likely this fraud/ theft can be inflicted on other ownership areas.
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Re: Identity Theft - Fastest Growing White Collar Crime

Post by Maciek »

beaverlodge wrote:One lady I know had her VISA card identity stolen. She does not know how it happened. Her only use ever of the card on the Web was for Air Canada. The Royal Bank called her and asked if she was making unusual purchases from the likes of Future Shop and others. The purchases were being made In Quebec, Toronto and Winnipeg.
As Bylo pointed out, there are plenty of ways this can happen without the involvement of the Internet. Air Canada likely uses SSL for transactions and it is extremely unlikely someone hacked their system.

More likely scenarios:

- Someone rifled through her trash (in her house can/condo or apt disposal bin, at the recycling depot, even at the landfill) and found unshredded or poorly-shredded bills (think shredding is fail-safe? think again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_shredder#Unshredding)

- A underpaid/undertipped waiter/waitress/dishwasher at a restaurant she went to decided to "double dip"

- A million other scenarios involving paper waste or handing her card to people who can't be trusted

While it's possible that she got keylogging spyware (becoming more and more common these days) or someone hacked her SSL connection (or even Air Canada's servers), these methods of identity theft aren't as common as simple dumpster diving / etc. The path of least resistance will attract the most thieves.

I suggest buying her a diamond-cut shredder and make sure she uses Firefox and doesn't download any "screensavers" or other useless junk.
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Post by fundingfriend »

So many companies sell your personal information. It just takes a bit of information here and a bit of information there, for someone to get enough info to steal your identity. Employees of companies aren't so great about safeguarding your information. Take the recent problems with company employees taking their laptops home and "oh, crap, my laptop was stolen." Everytime you use your credit card, there is so much potential for someone to steal your information. When you go to the store and the clerk enters your credit card info into a machine, he or she could be noting your credit card number without your noticing, especially if your are distracted by your cellphone, children, friends, etc. When you use your card online, companies store your information that some hacker can eventually get to when lucky. Trashcans, car receits, postal information. All it really takes is a social, birthdate and name and someone could become you in no time.
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Re: Identity Theft - Fastest Growing White Collar Crime

Post by Arby »

My mother recently noticed that some jewelry and documents were missing from her apartment in a seniors residence. We suspect it was one of her caregivers, but don't have any proof. The missing documents include:
- Social Insurance Number card
- OHIP card
- bank access card
- possibly a blank cheque

She has a number of investments at various financial institutions, but no information on the investment accounts were at the retirement home. I monitor her bank and investment accounts a few times each week. She doesn't have a computer, credit card, passport, or drivers licence. I'm wondering if I should be worried about identity theft, and what I can do about. Any suggestions?
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Re: Identity Theft - Fastest Growing White Collar Crime

Post by gobsmack »

Arby wrote:Any suggestions?
In the case of the blank cheque, it may be a good idea to change the account number. I had a similar breach once. I called my bank and they were extremely helpful. They immediately changed all my account numbers while I was with them on the phone.

It may be wise to also follow the advice upthread on how to put a fraud warning on her credit file.
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Re: Identity Theft - Fastest Growing White Collar Crime

Post by gobsmack »

Chuck wrote:...I almost never apply for credit these days so I'm thinking it might be a good idea just to provide another hurdle for fraudsters to clear and would not prove too much of an inconvenience.

Not quite sure how it would work though. I.E. What steps they go through to confirm my identity.

Something to consider for the paranoid among us.
I used to this when I was living in Chicago. It was a time when a number of identity theft cases were constantly showing up in the news. The fraud alert used to only last for six months though. I used to call them every six months in order to renew it. As a bonus, they would send me a free credit report every time I renewed the alert. I never had to apply for credit during that time so it was never an inconvenience for me.
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