Canada: number of victims of identity fraud from 2012 to 2014
This graph shows the number of victims of identity fraud in Canada from 2012 to 2014. In 2012 there were 17,094 victims of identity fraud nationwide.
Identity fraud
Identity fraud is the use of some else’s identity (alive, dead, or fake) or the changing of information of one’s one identity for fraudulent purposes. It is differentiated from identity theft which is merely the stealing of someone else’s personal information (usually as a preparatory step for identity fraud). Examples of the objectives of identity frauds are teens attempting to purchase alcohol and tobacco with a fake ID, applying for loans and credit cards, receiving government benefits, money laundering and hiding criminal activity.
Identity fraud has been increasing in Canada since records started being kept by StatCan in 2010 but it is thought that it is still underreported. This is due partly to the prevalence of synthetic identity fraud (the manufacturing of a fake identity with real identification documents) which can be difficult to differentiate from genuine credit defaults. The rate of identity fraud in Canada increased 64 percent in just five years from 2010 to 2014 with the total number of identity fraud incidents at 10,606 for 2014. Canadian victims of identity fraud suffered roughly 10.5 million Canadian dollars in damages in 2014.
Identity fraud
Identity fraud is the use of some else’s identity (alive, dead, or fake) or the changing of information of one’s one identity for fraudulent purposes. It is differentiated from identity theft which is merely the stealing of someone else’s personal information (usually as a preparatory step for identity fraud). Examples of the objectives of identity frauds are teens attempting to purchase alcohol and tobacco with a fake ID, applying for loans and credit cards, receiving government benefits, money laundering and hiding criminal activity.
Identity fraud has been increasing in Canada since records started being kept by StatCan in 2010 but it is thought that it is still underreported. This is due partly to the prevalence of synthetic identity fraud (the manufacturing of a fake identity with real identification documents) which can be difficult to differentiate from genuine credit defaults. The rate of identity fraud in Canada increased 64 percent in just five years from 2010 to 2014 with the total number of identity fraud incidents at 10,606 for 2014. Canadian victims of identity fraud suffered roughly 10.5 million Canadian dollars in damages in 2014.
