Concern About Identity Theft Growing in Canada; Eighty Percent of Canadians Think Identity Theft Is a Serious Problem; One-Third More Concerned Than a Year Ago

Business Wire, Feb 28, 2005

TORONTO and CHANTILLY, Va. -- Four in five Canadians think identity theft is a serious problem in Canada and that concern is growing as the number of people with personal experience with the crime increases, according to a new telephone poll conducted for Intersections Inc. (Nasdaq:INTX) and Carlson Marketing Group Canada Ltd. by Ipsos-Reid.

The survey, called the Identity Theft Index Canada (ITIC), is the first in a series of tracking polls the companies intend to commission to gauge the level of awareness of and types of responses to the growing crime of identity theft among Canadian consumers. Intersections and Carlson are among the over 35 members of the Fraud Prevention Forum who collaborate with the Competition Bureau of Canada to help combat consumer fraud. As part of this effort, the groups marked February as Fraud Awareness Month.

The ITIC poll found that one in four Canadians reported that they have been, or someone they personally know has been, a victim of identity theft. This is made up of nine percent who said they, or they and someone they know personally, have been victims; and 17 percent who said someone they know personally has been a victim.

As a possible result of these experiences, one-third of respondents said their level of concern about them or someone they know becoming a victim of this crime is higher than a year ago.

The types of fraud resulting from identity theft crime are wide-ranging, according to the ITIC poll. Among those who have been a victim or personally know someone who has been a victim of identity theft, seventy percent said the identity theft resulted in unauthorized credit card purchases, the most frequent, but least costly form of identity theft fraud for consumers. However, significant percentages of these respondents reported more serious frauds, including takeover of existing credit card accounts (43%), the opening of new credit card accounts (36%) or new loans (22%), unauthorized bank account access (42%) and the use of the victims' personal information in other types of frauds, such as to obtain government benefits or medical care (24%).

"Many cases of identity theft perpetrated against Canadians are resulting in serious crimes that go well beyond simple credit card fraud where the consumer's liability has traditionally been limited," said Sheila McCracken, who represents Intersections' Canadian solutions group. "These more significant frauds can have serious implications for consumers in terms of losses."

The majority of identity theft fraud in Canada appears to be self detected. More than one-third (34%) of Canadian victims discovered the fraud while reviewing their bank or credit card statements (26%) or credit reports (8%). Thirty percent reported that their bank or credit card company first discovered the fraud, the ITIC poll found.

It is not surprising then that 92 percent of Canadians said they are responsible for protecting themselves from identity theft. However, compared to the results of a previous poll conducted for Intersections in June 2004, increasing majorities also feel that others, such as banks (87%, up 3%), credit card companies (85%, up 2%) the government (79%, up 11%), credit bureaus (75%, up 4%) and retailers (72%, up 2%) are also responsible for protecting them.

Encouragingly, seventy percent of respondents reported that they consider themselves 'very well' or 'somewhat' informed about how to protect against identity theft. When asked what steps they have ever taken to protect against identity theft, a majority of respondents said they have followed the security procedures requested by their credit card company (68%), reviewed their credit reports (65%) or bought a shredder or destroy documents (54%). Fewer Canadians have stopped banking or shopping online (30%), subscribed to a credit monitoring service (18%) or bought identity theft insurance or other identity theft recovery services (17%) to protect against identity theft.

"Quick discovery of identity theft crime is essential to stopping fraud and reducing losses," said John Holman, Vice President for Carlson's Membership Marketing division. "It is clear that right now a vigilant consumer remains one of his own best defenses against identity theft and the fraud that often results from it."

Intersections, in partnership with Carlson, offers the only credit monitoring service that monitors consumers' files at both major credit reporting agencies in Canada - Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada - on a daily basis for red flags that may indicate identity theft or fraud. The service, called CreditAlert(TM), is available through financial institutions in both English and French.

Not surprisingly, many Canadians feel that more can be done by others to alleviate the problem of identity theft. Just under half (46%) think that banks and credit card companies are doing enough to protect consumers from identity theft and fraud. Half (49%) think law enforcement is doing enough and 47 percent think the media is doing a good job protecting them. Only minorities of Canadians feel that the government (40%), credit bureaus (37%) and retailers (35%) are doing enough to help fight the identity theft problem in Canada.