A coalition of Canadian consumer groups today called on the federal and provincial governments to legislate to protect consumers from the threat posed by identity theft.
The Canadian Consumer Inititative says that Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in Canada, and that the public education measures proposed by the federal government and its partners during February’s Fraud Awareness month are not enough to protect consumers.
Real progress in the battle against identity theft requires specific legislation and enforcement measures to ensure compliance, it says.
“While we welcome this fraud awareness campaign, the fact is that identity theft is frequently beyond the control of consumers,” said Peter Bleyer, coordinator of the Canadian Consumer Initiative. “Since business and government often open the door to identity theft through their practices, it seems reasonable to ask them to lead the battle against it.”
The Canadian Consumer Initiative calls on Canada’s federal and provincial governments to move quickly to develop new laws to protect consumers in four key areas:
- Requiring business and government to report leaks of personal information to consumers not just to credit bureaus and the police;
- A two-year phase out of all use of Social Insurance Numbers by businesses;
- A credit freeze facility for consumers dealing; and
- Criminalizing identity theft related offences.
The Canadian Consumer Initiative includes the Automobile Protection Association, the Consumers Council of Canada, Option consommateurs, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, and Union des consommateurs.
The full text of the CCI joint policy position on identity theft is available at: http://www.piac.ca/ID_theft_laws.html