____________________
Security

New Study Finds More Than One in Three Canadians More Concerned of Identity Theft

TORONTO - If you've ever been concerned about identity theft, you should know that you're not alone.

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, more than 18,000 Canadians were affected by identity fraud in 2010 -- an increase of nearly 22% from 2009's reported 14,000 victims. A recent IBOPE Zogby International survey conducted by TransUnion.ca also found that more than one in three (37 percent) of all Canadians are more concerned about identity theft after hearing of the recent breaches of information within major corporations.

"Identity theft continues to be a growing concern for many Canadians and identity thieves can get hold of your personal information in a variety of sneaky and illegal ways," said Tom Reid, director of consumer solutions for TransUnion.ca. His company is one of the two major national credit-reporting companies in Canada. "The more you know about this prevalent crime and how it occurs, the better prepared you will be to protect yourself."

From account takeover to identity theft, these crimes are often time consuming for consumers to work through. Although it is hard to truly avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, there are a few ways you can help guard against identity theft and detect it.

* First, carry only what you need in your wallet. Leave extra credit cards, your Social Insurance card, PIN numbers and other info at home or in another safe place.

* Watch your mail for statements from creditors that you have not opened accounts with or statements or bills that you normally receive on a regular basis that have stopped coming.

* Consider a locked mailbox at home. Going on vacation? Have your mail held at the post office.

* Buy a shredder and destroy unneeded bills or documents that contain personal information.

* Use only secure websites to conduct transactions. Never disclose personal information over the telephone or Internet unless it is to a trusted source and/or you initiated the call/transaction.

* Review credit card and bank statements carefully every month. If something doesn't look right, investigate it immediately.

* Review your credit reports frequently. Subscribe to a credit monitoring service, such as the service available at TransUnion.ca, which alerts you to critical changes made to those reports. This will help you detect not only signs of fraud, but identity theft as well. For more information on

Methodology:

IBOPE Zogby International was commissioned by Transunion to conduct an online survey of 500 Canadian adults. The survey was conducted from 8/3/11 through 8/5/11. IBOPE Zogby International's partners supply email addresses for adults in Canada. These panelists were invited to participate. Slight weights were added to region, age, education and gender to more accurately reflect the population. The margin of error is +/- 4.5 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.