BEV CLINE
Sun
If you are moving house this spring, make sure you don’t inadvertently set yourself up as a potential victim of identity theft.
Criminals look for easy ways to steal your personal information — SIN number, credit card numbers, birth date, banking information — so they can take on your identity and use it for criminal purposes, such as negotiating a fraudulent mortgage or obtaining credit.
In the excitement and rush that usually goes along with moving house, it’s easy to overlook important steps that can help safeguard your personal information.
The most i mportant advice is to maintain control of your personal data, says Sgt. Atallah Sadaka of the Organized Fraud Squad of the Ottawa Police. This control needs to extend from the time you begin to plan your move, until well after you are settled in your new home, he says.
The most obvious opportunity for fraudsters to gain access to your information is by simply removing mail from either your old or your new mailbox. Which is why it is important to let Canada Post know you are moving and to make arrangements for you to receive your mail in a manner that minimizes the danger of theft.
Canada Post provides a number of options to manage your mail when you move, says spokesman Francois Legault. These include change of address or hold mail services, which can be arranged at a post office or through www.smartmoves.ca.
In addition, you may want to call your credit card company, bank, or any other organization that sends you mail containing your personal information. Furnish them with your new address or ask them to refrain from sending correspondence to you until you call to notify them that you have moved.
If you are expecting items such as new or renewed credit cards or booklets of blank cheques to be delivered to your home, consider picking them up at your bank, says Sadaka, who notes you will need to produce proper identification at time of pickup.
As you pack, sort out your old financial documents, with an eye to discarding those that are not required for tax or other purposes. And, if you don’t already own one, invest in a shredder to dispose of these documents, says Sadaka. Placing the documents into recycling receptacles for public pickup is an invitation for criminals.
After you move, don’t relax your vigilance, says Legault, who suggests that as part of your preparation for moving you compile a check list of expected mail. After the move, “it’s important to verify that you are receiving all the mail you anticipated,” he says. Consult your checklist of expected bills, statements, cheques or pay stubs, even magazines.
If they do not arrive in the expected time frame, take action. Contact the sender to see if these items were indeed sent, and if they were, contact Canada Post and the police. If you suspect your identity has been compromised, investigate immediately.
News Service
If you are moving house this spring, make sure you don’t inadvertently set yourself up as a potential victim of identity theft.
Criminals look for easy ways to steal your personal information — SIN number, credit card numbers, birth date, banking information — so they can take on your identity and use it for criminal purposes, such as negotiating a fraudulent mortgage or obtaining credit.
In the excitement and rush that usually goes along with moving house, it’s easy to overlook important steps that can help safeguard your personal information.
The most i mportant advice is to maintain control of your personal data, says Sgt. Atallah Sadaka of the Organized Fraud Squad of the Ottawa Police. This control needs to extend from the time you begin to plan your move, until well after you are settled in your new home, he says.
The most obvious opportunity for fraudsters to gain access to your information is by simply removing mail from either your old or your new mailbox. Which is why it is important to let Canada Post know you are moving and to make arrangements for you to receive your mail in a manner that minimizes the danger of theft.
Canada Post provides a number of options to manage your mail when you move, says spokesman Francois Legault. These include change of address or hold mail services, which can be arranged at a post office or through www.smartmoves.ca.
In addition, you may want to call your credit card company, bank, or any other organization that sends you mail containing your personal information. Furnish them with your new address or ask them to refrain from sending correspondence to you until you call to notify them that you have moved.
If you are expecting items such as new or renewed credit cards or booklets of blank cheques to be delivered to your home, consider picking them up at your bank, says Sadaka, who notes you will need to produce proper identification at time of pickup.
As you pack, sort out your old financial documents, with an eye to discarding those that are not required for tax or other purposes. And, if you don’t already own one, invest in a shredder to dispose of these documents, says Sadaka. Placing the documents into recycling receptacles for public pickup is an invitation for criminals.
After you move, don’t relax your vigilance, says Legault, who suggests that as part of your preparation for moving you compile a check list of expected mail. After the move, “it’s important to verify that you are receiving all the mail you anticipated,” he says. Consult your checklist of expected bills, statements, cheques or pay stubs, even magazines.
If they do not arrive in the expected time frame, take action. Contact the sender to see if these items were indeed sent, and if they were, contact Canada Post and the police. If you suspect your identity has been compromised, investigate immediately.
