Identity theft.

• Author: Doyle, Michelle
• Position: FEATURE on Criminal Law

You are 45 years old. You own your own home, you pay your bills, and you have paid off your student loan. You lock your doors at night; you lock your car when you go into the shopping centre. You don't frequent high-risk areas, you don't do drugs, and you don't accept rides from strangers. You've never met a criminal. So, why do you have red flags on your credit report, why are creditors calling you, why are you afraid to collect your mail? You, my friend, are a victim of identity theft. You will spend the next several months or years trying to correct the fallout from this new and emerging trend. You will never know when or if this process will start all over again. You are one of approximately 1,400 to 1,800 people per month who report instances of identity theft to Canada's major credit reporting agencies.

Identity theft refers to the activity of accessing and using another person's identifying information for the purpose of fraud or other criminal activity. Typically, identity theft is committed for financial gain. The perpetrator will use your personal information to take over your bank account and your credit cards, open new accounts, transfer monies, and apply for loans and new credit--all in your name. Although less frequent, identity theft may also be committed for the purpose of obtaining government benefits, avoiding detection from law enforcement, or committing acts of terrorism or acts which compromise federal border security.

Identity theft, as a crime, is different from nearly any other type of criminal offence. The offence is often completely non-personal. A victim will likely never have come into contact with the offender. These offences are never committed on impulse. They are sophisticated crimes committed by highly organized criminals. At the time of the offence, victims will rarely know that they have been victimized. Unlike a theft or a burglary, it will often take days, weeks, months or longer before victims realize what has happened to them. The most attractive victim is the sort of person who is rarely targeted by criminals. An attractive victim is one who has a good credit history and the potential for receiving more credit, it is their level of responsibility that makes people attractive victims. Unlike other offences, identity theft is the offence that keeps on giving. Personal information is worth money to those who traffic in such things. Victims never know if their information has been sold to another criminal or group of criminals. At any time, someone else may launch yet another scheme to...