22 BCBUSINESS MONTH YEAR PHOTO CREDIT
F R A U D P R E V E N T I O N
P R O M O T E D C O N T E N T
On High Alert
Businesses and consumers urged to be more vigilant about fraud
T
his year marks the 12th
anniversary of Fraud Prevention
Month, the annual public
awareness campaign held every
March that aims to prevent
Canadians from becoming
victims of fraud, and encourages
Canadians to recognize, report and stop it
from happening.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud
Centre, it is estimated that less than five
per cent of the total number of fraud
victims report their experiences to law
enforcement agencies.
Over half of Canadians (54 per cent) say
they are more concerned about identity
theft today than they were a year ago,
results that came out of a recent study by
Equifax Canada on consumer spending
habits online and in stores.
Equifax Canada organizes, assimilates
and analyzes data on more than 600
million consumers and more than 80
million businesses worldwide, and its
databases include more than 200 million
employee files.
"Do not give out your personal
information unless you have initiated that
contact," says Kristina Zentil, director of
fraud strategy and identity management
for Equifax Canada.
"Also, protect your social insurance
number and your mail to prevent the
creation of a synthetic identification."
Criminals are targeting consumers
and business owners to apply for credit
or a financial product on your name or
business, she explains.
"Monitor and be aware of what is
happening with your credit file," says
Zentil. "Be alert for any companies putting
enquiries against your credit file. Do you
recognize those companies and are they
legitimate? Have you applied for those
credit products?"
