VICTORIA - Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Vancouver Island warns consumers and small businesses to be alert to a wide range of identity theft frauds targeting our region.
Identity theft is on the rise. Every day the Better Business Bureau receives calls from people who have been targeted by identity thieves. In 2010 the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received reports from 18,146 victims of identity theft, totaling $9,436,996.92 in losses. Schemes to steal your identity take on many forms. Whether it begins with a stolen purse or wallet, mail fraud, dumpster/recycle bin diving, mass marketing schemes, telephone/fax solicitations, fake prize winnings, emergency calls or email and text message ploys; identity theft is a growing problem.
“It is impossible to completely eliminate the chances of having your identity stolen,” says Rosalind Scott, Executive Director of BBB Vancouver Island. “But there are many simple things people can do to significantly reduce their chances of becoming a victim. Educating yourself on the variety of different identity theft scams out there is important. Never give out private or personal information, especially if the request for the information comes unsolicited. And get into the routine of responsibly shredding confidential information.”
BBB is reminding individuals and small businesses of the importance of properly shredding sensitive documents in order to avoid ID theft. Every year thousands of Canadians become victims of preventable ID theft. ID theft often occurs when the thief has direct contact with the victim’s personal information such as through a stolen or lost wallet, or by rifling through the victim’s mailbox or trash.
“When people think of ID theft they almost immediately focus on hackers and online security,” says Scott. “But one of the most common ways ID theft happens is when people have failed to secure or properly destroy important financial information including paper documents, ID, and credit cards.”
Properly destroying sensitive personal and financial documents is a key step in ID theft prevention. To help you protect your identity, the BBB in partnership with Access Records & Media Management is hosting Shred It! Secure Your ID Day – a FREE document-shredding event. All individuals and small business are invited to bring a maximum of 5 bags or boxes to the Tillicum Centre parking lot on Friday October 14, 2011 (from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.).
BBB also offers the following guide on when to shred confidential documents:
Cancelled cheques
Cancelled cheques with no long-term significance for tax or other purposes can be destroyed after one year. However, cancelled cheques and other receipts that support tax returns, such as charitable contributions or tax payments, should be held for at least seven years – long enough to cover the six-year retention period. BBB advises that consumers should not shred cancelled cheques and related receipts or documents for a home purchase or sale, renovations or other improvements to owned property, and non-deductible contributions to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). For information on how long to keep your records, visit the Canada Revenue Agency
Deposit, ATM, credit card and debit card receipts
Consumers should save credit, debit, and ATM receipts until the transaction appears on their statement and they have verified that the information is accurate.
Credit card and bank account statements
Credit card and bank account statements with no tax or other long-term significance can be discarded after a year; remaining statements should be kept for up to seven years. If a consumer receives a detailed annual statement, they should keep it and shred the corresponding monthly statements.
Credit card contracts and other loan agreements
Credit card contracts and loan agreements should be kept for as long as the account is active in case the consumer has a dispute with their lender over the terms of the contract. When a new credit card is received, keep the new contract with updated terms and conditions.
Documentation of a purchase or sale of stocks, bonds and other investments
Investors should retain documentation of a purchase or sale for as long as they own the investment and then seven years beyond that time. Monthly retirement and monthly investment account statements can be shredded annually after being reconciled with the year-end statement.
Paycheque Stubs
Paycheque stubs can be shredded yearly after the income has been reconciled with a T-4 or other tax forms.
Utility or monthly bills
Monthly bills should be shredded the year after being received by the consumer. This way, if it’s a power bill, for example, consumers can compare this month’s bill to last year’s bill for any major changes before shredding it.
Protect Your Identity: Don’t just toss it, shred it!
