Do you carry your SIN card in your wallet?

sly_karma

sly_karma

Crew Member
If yes, get it out of there right now, put it somewhere safe or memorise the number and dispose of the card. I unthinkingly carried mine for years but when my wallet got stolen last year, things went pear shaped. Drivers Licence and SIN were enough for some low life to rack up a large cell phone bill and max out a $20K credit card, both fraudulently obtained in my name. The first thing you know about it is a collection agency is on the phone. Then follows many hours trying to sort out the mess and hoping it doesn't affect credit rating. Seems to be OK now but any credit application for the next 6 years will be more involved as proving my identity will be a lot more complicated.

Again, get that SIN card out of your wallet, now.
 
I used to carry my SIN card in my wallet, but it was a paper one and after 10 or so years it was destroyed. Since then I have memorised it ( probably due to all of those trips to EI ). :D
 
Some arseholes got my SIN number a few years back too, Sly. I found out when I started getting phone calls from a collection agency for an unpaid power bill, then a cable bill, then later a cell phone bill.

My card was not stolen but somehow they got my number. The cops suggested to me that it's possible it was picked out of my recycle blue box. I shred almost everything now.

It was a huge pain in the butt and took me a few years to sort it all out. There were 4 people arrested for using my name and SIN in Nova Scotia, no charges were ever pressed against them. So, they got to go free and do the same thing to somebody else.
 
Yuk, thats even worse than my deal. At least I have a police file showing the date of the theft so it is easy to prove the debt isnt mine. Although the collection agency are slow to get the message... I do enjoy mildly berating the hapless phone flunkies that call me without bothering to read the entire file.
 
To stop the calls from an extremely rude and aggressive collection agency dude, the police kindly agreed to phone him on my behalf and have a word. The calls finally stopped. :)
 
Even once the debt is pulled from the agency they keep trying for a few more days. Cash is cash I guess.
 
No one is allowed to ask for your SIN number unless it relates to taxable info--I don't know my SIN number or care as long as come tax time it is available.
 
Hmmm, worked as a Banker for 25 years (Auditor 5 years) , trust me we didn't need to obtain your SIN number from you there are many other ways of obtaining it after you have sign the credit search authorization at the financial institute ........... SIN no big deal I would rather be worry about giving my birth date year.
BUT .............. never throw your SIN or even bills in the garbage without shredding them , It's unbelievable what a crook can do with a few old bills and your name on an old envelope and one credit card statement ........ BEWARE !! Good on you Kildonan for shredding !
 
....had my passport and birth certificate stolen among other documentation. Went to my bank, and for $5 they can put a credit hold, or whatever its called. Basically if anyone tries to pull credit, being for a phone, loan, credit card ect. a red flag goes up and the person trying to get credit does not get to do so unless further confirmation of identity is provided. Its done through the credit bureau, not the bank itself. Not a sure thing to avoid financial hardship after identity theft, but its $5 that can go a long way if it does happen to you.

****** luck on thefts, its a boat I've been floating all too well...
 
Finished Business said:
....had my passport and birth certificate stolen among other documentation. Went to my bank, and for $5 they can put a credit hold, or whatever its called. Basically if anyone tries to pull credit, being for a phone, loan, credit card ect. a red flag goes up and the person trying to get credit does not get to do so unless further confirmation of identity is provided. Its done through the credit bureau, not the bank itself. Not a sure thing to avoid financial hardship after identity theft, but its $5 that can go a long way if it does happen to you.

****** luck on thefts, its a boat I've been floating all too well...
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Wow FB that sucks !

Credit theft is one of the hardest things to eliminate and most expensive costs to the Canadian Financial Institutions , Just ask Visa, MC and AMEX !
If you have lost sensitive documents its best to change all your pin numbers , contact your bank to implement cautions on your accounts including change of account numbers.
A Bank can contact the appropriate Credit Bureaus noting a caution and in fact its still possible for any individual to monitor his/ her own credit report on line by signing up with Equifax , use this link http://www.consumer.equifax.ca/home/en_ca.
Nothing is a sure thing , especially avoiding financial hardship fro identity theft , but making it harder to capitalize on a theft makes it less appealing.
Just my 5 cents !
 
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