Canada Equifax Finds Tender

Fewer Canadians are double-checking their financial statements shredding personal documents or installing security software on their computers despite the increased threat of fraud and identity theft according to Equifax Canada. Data flagged by financial institutions and tracked by Equifax Canada also found that Attempts of credit card fraud have increased by 42 per cent over the last two years Millennials were targeted in 48 per cent of all fraudulent credit card applications in 2018 and Suspected true name fraud when an identity thief poses as a real person in completing a credit application has also increased by 84 percent over the last five years.Identity theft and fraud is more complex and sophisticated than ever which should be of growing concern for Canadians said Tara Zecevic Vice President Fraud Prevention and Identity Management Equifax Canada. Millennials in particular should be doing more to educate themselves and protect their personal data given the incidence of credit card fraud we saw in 2018. It seems that complacency is setting in for some people when we actually need to be more vigilant than ever in the fight against fraud added Zecevic. But identity thieves dont take a holiday and they target people who make it easy for them.Survey Results Millennials are Less Concerned With the data in hand to support a rise in fraud and identity theft Equifax Canada wanted to hear from consumers. It conducted a consumer survey designed to gauge what people think about identity theft and the habits they practice when it comes to protecting themselves. This is the second year that Equifax Canada has conducted the survey. The survey found that consumers were doing more in two areas sharing less on social media up 43 per cent from 39 percent and more people are checking their credit reports up to 28 per cent from 21 per cent. Surprisingly millennials checked their credit reports more than any other age group 29 per cent. Younger adults need to recognize the importance of preventing fraud before it happens added Zecevic. There are so many little things consumers can do to help protect their personal information. Its simply knowing what to do and making the time to do it.