Identity theft

If you think that you may be a victim of identity theft or fraud that is using your personal information, there are immediate steps that you can take to limit the damage and protect yourself.

If you become a victim of identity theft or fraud

If you think that you have been targeted by identity fraud or identity theft, take action to protect yourself:

Protect your accounts

• Change your passwords right away for your online accounts affected by the breach.

Tell your bank

• Tell your bank and credit card companies about the incident.
• Ask for new bank or credit cards with new numbers on them.

Report the breach

• Report it to your local police if it involved a theft or crime.
• Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501) if it involved a scam or fraud.
• Report any missing ID documents, such as a driver’s licence, a health card or immigration document to the appropriate organization.

Contact government agencies

• Contact the Canada Revenue Agency at 1-800-959-8281 to tell the Agency that you may be a victim of identity theft. Ask the Agency if it can add more security measures to your account so that no funds are issued because of fraud.
• Call 1-800-O-Canada (1-800-622-6232) for information on where and how to replace your identity documents such as your passport or social insurance number.
• Contact the relevant ministry in your province or territory of residence to replace your driver’s licence or health card.

Monitor your credit and finances

• Consider subscribing to credit alerts to reduce the potential for fraud, or order a credit report and score to ensure you have an up-to-date account of your standing.
• Keep records of recent purchases, payments and financial transactions as well as a record of what you have done to address identity theft.

How to reduce the risk of identity theft

Be careful about sharing personal information. Do not give out more than necessary. Talk with your children and other vulnerable people in your life about identity theft and how to minimize the risk. Along with the following tips, you can visit the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security for more guidance on protecting yourself from identity theft online.

1. Keep your Social Insurance Number safe

• Store your Social Insurance Number card and documents containing your SIN in a safe place—do not carry them in your wallet.
• Shred documents that contain your SIN instead of putting them in the recycling bin.
• Provide your SIN only when it is legally required.

Learn more about how to protect your Social Insurance Number.

2. Avoid scams and fraud

• Always check that the organization you are dealing with is legitimate before you take any other action. Confirm the company and its services are real before you contact them.

Learn about protecting yourself from scams and fraud from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

3. Limit the personal information you share

• The best way to control your personal information online is not to hand it over in the first place. Since that may not always be practical or possible, use privacy settings to limit how much you share.

Check out our privacy settings advice for help protecting your privacy online.

4. Pay attention to passwords

• Choose passwords for your online accounts that you will remember, but that will not be easy to guess—avoid things like your mother’s maiden name, a family pet or a reference to something you have posted publicly.

Read our tips on creating and managing passwords.

5. Keep your postal mail safe

• Register with the Canadian Marketing Association’s Do Not Mail Service to reduce the amount of addressed marketing offers you receive in your mailbox.

Learn other ways to protect yourself from mail fraud and spam from the Office on Consumer Affairs.