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More online shoppers aiding identity thieves

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

More than one in 10 Canadians who shop online have fallen victim to identity theft, with Ontarians hit the hardest, a survey released Tuesday suggests.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of PayPal Canada, found that 12 per cent of all online shoppers polled in Ontario claimed they had been victims of identity theft. Albertans were second hardest-hit, with nine per cent reporting their identities stolen.

"People are doing more and more transactions online and that predisposes them to more chances of a fraudulent transaction happening," said Darrell MacMullin, country manager for PayPal Canada. "Fraud continues to evolve. Don't share information online that you don't want everyone to know."

Only eight per cent of respondents from British Columbia and Quebec had fallen victim to thieves, while less than six per cent of respondents in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada reported having their identities stolen even though they're as likely to shop and to share credit card information online.

According to statistics from Phone Busters and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre, which is operated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadians have reported 8,048 cases of identity theft so far this year, totalling $7.3 million in losses.
In 2007, there were 9,971 cases of identity theft reported, totalling only $6.4 million in losses.

Globally, English-speaking countries have been hardest hit by identity theft, according to the study. Around 10 per cent of online shoppers in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom reported having their identities stolen as compared with only five per cent of respondents in France, Germany and Spain.

As North Americans increasingly shun cash in favour of debit and credit cards, tech-savvy criminals are learning new ways to get access to consumer's bank accounts.
Meanwhile, online banking, Internet-based payment systems and social networks containing a plethora of personal details are proving to be gold mines for identity thieves.

According to the PayPal study, more than 85 per cent of respondents are aware of identity theft. Many actively try to minimize their chances of falling victim.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario would not comment on the PayPal survey specifically. However, Bob Spence, a spokesman for the commissioner, said consumers should take several measures to protect themselves from identity theft.

He said consumers should conduct an annual credit check on themselves, as well as immediately report any activity they deem to be suspicious. He also said that consumers should regularly change their online passwords and be stingy when it comes to giving out personal details online.

The PayPal survey was conducted Aug. 19-26. More than 1,000 Canadians took part in the survey. Another 1,000 Internet users from the U.S., U.K. and Europe took part to compile global statistics. The results are considered accurate to within plus-or-minus 3.1 per cent of the time within the sampled online population.

Sourece:http://www.canada.com/topics/news