Don't let thieves steal your identity

In the last five years, millions of Canadians and Americans have had their identity stolen and experts predict that even more will fall victim to identity theft in the next five years.

According to the United States Federal Trade Commission, identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the country. It cost businesses and consumers more than $56 billion in 2005, and most people do not discover their information has been stolen until 12 months after a thief first uses it. Worse, fewer than one in 700 identity-theft crimes lead to a conviction.

Even so, taking preventative measures is worth the time. We recommend taking the following steps to minimize your chances of having your identity stolen:

• Shred financial documents and paperwork with personal information before discarding them.
• Do not carry your SIN card with you and do not write your SIN number on cheques.
• Do not click on links in unsolicited e-mails. If an e-mail appears to be from your financial institution asking for personal information, go to the organization's official web site and/or call to ask if the e-mail is from them.
• Computer, credit card and banking passwords should not be obvious. Avoid using your mother's maiden name, any part of your SIN number or your date of birth as your password.
• If you fail to receive bills or other mail on time or as expected, call the sender directly. A missing bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your account and changed the mailing address.
• You begin receiving credit cards you did not apply for.
• You have been denied credit or are receiving less favourable credit terms-a higher interest rate or lower credit limit than you've received in the past.
• You begin receiving calls from debt collection agencies or businesses regarding merchandise you did not purchase.

Since there is currently no foolproof way to guarantee your identity won't be stolen, stay alert for signs that someone may be using your identity. Statistics show that once a consumer becomes a victim of identity theft, the average time spent repairing the problem is between 400 and 600 hours, so consider these steps and be careful.