Welcome to the 21st century. Today, a thin magnetic strip or a few well-placed keystrokes are all that lie between us – our personal stuff – and the whole wicked world. Thieves don’t have to get up-close-and-personal to rob us anymore. No need to, when people will voluntarily, albeit unwittingly or just carelessly, hand over the keys to their personal lives, fortunes and peace of mind.
Philip Levi, FCA, CFE, CAIFA, CPA/CFF, a forensic accountant and manager of Levi & Sinclair, LLP, says there’s an identity theft victim born every minute. Even more alarming is that by simply living our lives, we’re probably inadvertently helping the bad guys. Just swipe a credit card at the gas pump, buy something online or toss a bank statement into the recycling bin.
“The only real defence is education – knowing what to do and how to do it,” says Levi. “It comes down to simply taking precautions.” Here are his top seven tips for keeping your identity – and by extension, all that you value – safe and sound.
1. Never give out personal information over the phone. Not your name, your credit card number or anything that can reveal your identity to a caller. Even if you place the call yourself, you can’t be sure that whoever answers won’t jot down your particulars for their own devious purposes.
When someone calls for a donation, ask him/her to put a form in the mail that describes the organization and how you can contribute financially. Then write a cheque and mail it. Consider the price of a stamp an investment in keeping yourself and your money safe.
2. Shred, shred, shred. Anything that can be traced to you can be used to hurt you. Not just your own bills and statements, but even those unrequested applications for new credit cards that arrive in the mail. For as little as $30, a small home-use shredder can nip the problem in the bud.
3. Be wary of paying over the Internet. No sooner is a new program created to safeguard your online transactions than a hacker finds a way to circumvent it.
4. Social networking sites are not your friends. Pictures and personal details on sites like Facebook or LinkedIn are the best gifts you can give a fraudster, says Levi. They get your name and those of your friends and use them to build a profile. Even an envelope lying on a desk in the background of that picture you posted can be blown up to reveal an address.
5. Keep up with your paperwork. Go over bank and credit card statements regularly. Check the numbers called on your phone bills. Investigate, call and report anything you can’t account for.
6. Check your credit reports. These can be requested, free-of-charge, from a credit monitoring agency like Transunion Canada or Equifax Canada. Review yours at least once a year.
7. Take advantage of new safety technology. Protect your computer with anti-virus software. Use different passwords for different institutions. Pick ones that can’t be easily surmised – not your birthday or pet’s name – and memorize them. If you shop online, apply for and use a separate credit card with a limit that’s kept deliberately low. Replace your regular bank debit and credit cards with the new micro chipped versions that require a PIN to activate them. Memorize the number and never reveal it to anyone.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario is the qualifying and regulatory body of Ontario’s 33,000 Chartered Accountants and 5,000 CA students. Since 1879, the Institute has protected the public interest through the CA profession’s high standards of qualification and the enforcement of its rules of professional conduct. The Institute works in partnership with the other provincial Institutes of Chartered Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants to provide national standards and programs that are used as examples around the world. </em>
