Concern About Identity Theft Growing in Canada

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to a recent telephone poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Intersections Inc. and Carlson Marketing Group Canada, 80% of Canadian adults say they consider identity theft to be a serious problem in this country (38% a `very serious problem', 42% `somewhat serious problem'). Indeed, when asked if they or someone else they personally know has ever been a victim of identity theft, 9% report they have been (7% "I have been victim", plus 2% "both myself and someone I personally know"). One-in-six (17%) say that someone they personally know has been a victim of identity theft.

Further, when asked how concerned they are about themselves or someone they know becoming victim to identity theft, about two-thirds (65%) register a level of concern (23% `very concerned' and 42% `somewhat concerned'). When asked if their level of concern has changed over the past year, just under one-third (32%) say that their concern is `higher', 62% say it is `about the same' and the balance feel it is either lower (4%) or they don't know (2%).

These are some of the findings of a national Ipsos-Reid telephone poll conducted on behalf of Intersections Inc. and Carlson Marketing between January 28 and 31, 2005. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,001 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

A majority (80%) of Canadian adults surveyed feel that identity theft is a problem in Canada (38% a `very serious problem' and 42% a `somewhat serious problem').

• While Canadians in all regions/provinces feel that identity theft is a serious problem, residents of Quebec (85%) and British Columbia (82%) are more likely to feel this is a serious problem than are those in Alberta (79%), Ontario (77%), the Atlantic Provinces (also 77%) or Manitoba/Saskatchewan (72%).

Nine (9%) of Canadian adults report ever being a victim of identity theft, 7% say they have personally been a victim and 2% say that they have been victim jointly with someone they know. Further, 17% note that someone they know personally has been an identity theft victim.

• Regionally, residents of British Columbia (12% personally plus 2% along with someone else) are more likely to report personally being a victim to identity theft than any other province/region. The measure for Alberta is 8% personally plus 1% with someone else. Overall, however, Ontario has the highest reported rate of identity theft - 7% personally, 2% with someone else and 22% for someone they personally know.

Among those who have been victim or personally know someone who has been victim to identity theft, there was a wide set of outcomes as a result. The most frequently cited outcome (by 70%) was a credit card used to make an unauthorized purchase. While this outcome describes a theft, it may not fully represent identity theft, that is the fraudulent use of stolen or lost personal information.

• Regionally, unauthorized use of credit cards was somewhat higher in Alberta, the Atlantic Provinces and Manitoba/Saskatchewan.

Other reported outcomes among the identity theft victims were: an existing credit card account was fraudulently `taken over' by changing the address or other information (43%), stolen or lost personal information was fraudulently used in banking account transactions (42%), a new credit card account was fraudulently opened (36%), stolen or lost information was used to commit a fraud related to taxes, insurance or other payments (24%), stolen or lost information was used to fraudulently obtain government documents or benefits (24%), stolen or lost information was used to fraudulently open new utility accounts (23%) or stolen or lost information was used to fraudulently obtain loans in the victim's name (22%). Note, the percentages shown above are the proportion of those who victim or personally know someone who was victim to identity theft.

When asked, "Thinking of the issue of identity theft, how much of a concern do you have personally that you or someone you know becoming victim to identity theft? ", just under two-thirds (65%) of Canadian adults registered some level of concern (23% `very concerned', 42% somewhat concerned'). The remaining 34% were not concerned (24% `not too concerned', 10% `not at all concerned').

• Levels of concern about identity theft were higher in British Columbia (70%) and Ontario (also 70%). Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (65%) and Alberta (63%) had the next highest levels of concern followed by the Atlantic provinces (59%), and Quebec (55%).

Further, when asked about changes in the past year in their level of concern about identity theft, one-third (32%) said it is `higher', 62% said `about the same' and the remainder said either `lower' (4%) or they did not know (2%).

• On a regional basis, residents of Alberta (39%) and British Columbia (37%) were most likely to feel their level of concern is higher than a year ago. This is followed by Saskatchewan/Manitoba (34%), Ontario (33%) and the Atlantic Provinces (31%). Among those living in Quebec 24% feel their level of concern about identity theft is higher than a year ago, 64% said about the same and 10% said it was lower.

One-quarter (26%) of Canadian victims discovered the fraud while reviewing their bank or credit card statements and 8% when reviewing credit reports. Thirty percent reported that their bank or credit card company first discovered the fraud, the survey found.

Most, 92 percent of those polled say they are responsible for protecting themselves from identity theft. A similar majority say financial institutions such as banks (87%) are responsible, followed by credit card companies (85%) the government (79%), credit bureaus (75%) and retailers (72%). Seven-in-ten report they consider themselves `very well' (20%) or somewhat well informed (50%) about protecting themselves against identity theft. Reported protective steps taken to protect against identity theft include: followed security procedures requested by credit card companies, stores or financial institutions (68%), reviewed credit reports (65%), bought a shredder or destroyed documents with personal information (54%). Fewer Canadians claimed to have stopped banking or shopping online (30%), subscribed to a credit monitoring service (18%) or bought identity theft insurance or other identity theft recovery services (17%) to protect against identity theft.

Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Ray Kong
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2106