Personal information and identity theft


OVERVIEW

Target audience: McGill faculty, students and staff

When your personal information is compromised, you become vulnerable to identity theft. This article provides information about identity theft and ways to protect yourself.

In this article:

What is identity theft?

Identity theft happens when someone uses multiple pieces of your personal information, like your name, SIN, or date of birth, to pretend to be you. They might open a bank account, apply for credit, or even steal money from your accounts. 

How do thieves steal your info?

  • Phishing / social engineering: Fake communications, content, or interactions that trick you into giving away personal info. 
  • Data Breaches or Leaks: Sometimes these are caused by attackers breaking into systems and stealing data, other times, data can be accidentally exposed due to system misconfigurations or human error.
  • Dumpster Diving: Going through your trash to find documents with sensitive data.
  • Skimming devices: Devices that steal your credit/debit card info during a transaction.
  • Theft: Stealing wallets, mail, or documents. 

What can thieves do with it? 

  • Open credit cards or loans in your name.
  • Transfer your phone number to a new SIM (SIM swapping). This lets them take control of your phone number and access accounts that use text or call-based two-factor authentication.
  • Access your bank accounts.
  • Sign up for services like phone or utilities.
  • Impersonate you:
    • Use your SIN to get a job.
    • Use your health insurance, drivers license, passport to obtain government-provided services or evade having criminal charges in their name.
    • Cybercriminals often use copies of social media profiles to carry out harassment or job, rental, romance, or marketplace scams.

How can you minimize your risk?  

  • Monitor your credit report.
    • You are entitled to a free credit report from Canada’s 2 main credit bureaus: Equifax and TransUnion. Many banks will also provide free credit monitoring.
    • On your credit report: 
      • Check for any accounts that you did not open - this could be a sign of identity theft.
      • Make sure any incorrect information is updated.
      • Close any accounts that you no longer use. 
  • Protect your Social Insurance Number (SIN).
    • Do not carry your SIN card in your wallet, store it somewhere safe.
    • If asked to provide your SIN ask why it is needed, how it will be used and stored.
    • Do not use your SIN as a piece of ID. 
  • Don’t share personal info unless you’re sure who you’re dealing with: If you did not initiate contact with an organization, do not respond when asked to confirm information already on file. 
  • Shred documents, IDs, and bank/credit cards before throwing them out.  
  • Don’t post or share your personal information online.
    • Set your social media profiles to private.
    • Never provide confidential or personal information through email, text message or messaging apps, chatrooms, web pages, forums, social media or other online conversations.
    • Avoid using personal information for security questions.
    • Don’t take online quizzes or respond to social media posts that collect personal information about you. For example, “What was the #1 song the year you were born?” reveals your birth year. Your favourite song could reveal the answer to one of your security questions. 

What should you do if you think you’re a victim of identity theft? 

Note: In Quebec you can have your credit report locked with both Equifax and Transunion. Locking your report can proactively help prevent fraud. However, if you need credit, remember to unlock your report before applying. 

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