In these tough economic times, there are even more wrongdoers who will try to take your money.  If someone can steal your identity, then they have open access to all your resources.

The Vancouver Sun describes an online scheme that offers refunds to taxpayers.  The website looks extremely authentic but it does not belong to the Canada Revenue Agency.

The Canada Revenue Agency and security experts are warning consumers not to fall for an online scheme that is tricking taxpayers into divulging critical financial information.  The phishing scheme, using the promise of a tax refund as a lure, is gaining momentum as Canada’s tax season approaches.

It’s even scamming in Canada’s two official languages.  Prompted by the refund promise in an e-mail, people are directed to a website where they are supposed to fill in their social insurance number, date of birth, their full name and a line from their tax refund.

Armed with that information, someone could contact the CRA and authorize such measures as the redirecting of refunds to another bank account or the redirecting of all tax-related documents.

Avoiding such phishing schemes is essential but not always easy.  In the US they are now moving to the issuance of a secure Social Security card.  This would be part of H.R. 50, The Social Security Identity Theft Prevention Act.  H.R. 50 is intended to protect seniors from identity theft and strengthen national security by providing for the issuance of a secure Social Security card.

Social Security Identity Theft Prevention Act – Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require Social Security cards to be made of tamperproof and wear-resistant material (currently, of banknote paper), and include a digital image of the cardholder as well as an encrypted, machine-readable electronic record containing biometric identifiers

It is now being studied by the House Committee on Ways and Means.

In Canada there are a variety of online resources to guide you on how best to avoid your identity being stolen.  SafeCanada in its information for seniors has a section on Seniors Safety and Security. 

Other useful resources are:

• Identity Theft – Seniors Fraud Awareness Campaign – Alberta (PDF document)
• Identity Theft – Questions and Answers – SafeCanada
• Five Key Steps to Reduce the Risk of Identity Theft – Privacy Commission

The last of these covers the following elements:

• Protect your computer by using a firewall, anti-virus software and other security measures.
• Always be suspicious of e-mails from financial institutions, Internet service providers and other organizations asking you to provide personal information online.
• Protect your mail – place outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at your local post office. Promptly remove incoming mail from your mail box. Get into the habit of shredding or destroying pre-approved credit card, insurance or loan applications, bills, credit card receipts and anything that contains your personal information
• Get into the habit of checking your credit report on an annual basis — the major credit reporting bureaus will provide one free report each year.
• Do not give out personal information over the phone, unless you know the person to whom you are speaking, or you initiated the call yourself.
• If you believe or suspect that your personal information may have been compromised, contact the proper authorities (i.e., your bank, credit card issuer, credit reporting bureaus, utility provider, and so on) as soon as possible.

Be extremely cautious and make sure you are not the victim of some phishing scheme.  Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes and it can affect everyone, including you. Protect your personal information from being at risk. It is better to be safe than sorry.

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• Avoiding ID theft – CBC

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