Identity Theft

Identity theft is the use of someone's personal information without their knowledge or consent to commit a crime such as fraud or theft. Identity theft can start whenever a criminal gets access to someone else's information, and it is one of the fastest-growing crimes in Canada.

There are important steps you should take to protect your information.

• Follow Safe Computing Practices to protect your information online.
• Follow General Security Practices to protect your information in other ways.
• Learn about how to identify and avoid Phishing Scams.

Know that Scotiabank will never present you with unexpected webpages or send you unsolicited emails asking for your password, Personal Identification Number (PIN), credit card, account numbers, etc. Report any suspicious requests to Scotiabank immediately.

Do not respond to unsolicited emails or websites that request personal information.

If you believe that you are a victim of identity theft and you are a Scotiabank customer, please contact your branch or call 1-800-4-SCOTIA (1-800-472-6842) immediately.

• Contact each financial institution, credit card issuer or other company that provided the identity thief with unauthorized credit, money, goods or services.
• Report the incident to your local police department.
• If your government-issued documents were lost or stolen, report them to the responsible ministry or department and request new documents.

The Identity Theft Statement is a form that you can use to notify financial institutions, credit card issuers and other companies that you have become a victim of identity theft. It also allows you to provide information that may be needed for an investigation of the incident.

Scotiabank and many other Canadian financial institutions accept the Identity Theft Statement. The statement and instructions are available at the Consumer Measures Committee website at www.cmcweb.ca.