Eighty per cent of Canadians think identity theft is a serious problem; up one-third from last year, according to a new survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid.

Four in five Canadians think identity theft is a serious problem in Canada and that concern is growing as the number of people with personal experience with the crime increases, according to a new telephone poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid for Intersections Inc. and Carlson Marketing Group Canada Ltd.

The survey, called the Identity Theft Index Canada is the first in a series of tracking polls the companies intend to commission to gauge the level of awareness of and types of responses to the growing crime of identity theft among Canadian consumers. Intersections and Carlson are among the over 35 members of the Fraud Prevention Forum who collaborate with the Competition Bureau of Canada to help combat consumer fraud. As part of this effort, the groups marked February as Fraud Awareness Month.

The ITIC poll found that one in four Canadians reported that they, or someone they personally know, have been a victim of identity theft. Of the respondents, 9% said they, or they and someone they know personally, have been victims; and 17% said someone they know personally has been a victim.

As a possible result of these experiences, one-third of respondents said their level of concern about them or someone they know becoming a victim of this crime is higher than a year ago.

The types of fraud resulting from identity theft crime are wide-ranging, according to the ITIC poll. Among those who have been a victim or personally know someone who has been a victim of identity theft, 70% said the identity theft resulted in unauthorized credit card purchases, the most frequent, but least costly form of identity theft fraud for consumers.

However, significant percentages of these respondents reported more serious frauds, including takeover of existing credit card accounts (43%), the opening of new credit card accounts (36%) or new loans (22%), unauthorized bank account access (42%) and the use of the victims’ personal information in other types of frauds, such as to obtain government benefits or medical care (24%).

“Many cases of identity theft perpetrated against Canadians are resulting in serious crimes that go well beyond simple credit card fraud where the consumer’s liability has traditionally been limited,” said Sheila McCracken, who represents Intersections’ Canadian solutions group. “These more significant frauds can have serious implications for consumers in terms of losses.”

The majority of identity theft fraud in Canada appears to be self detected. More than one-third (34%) of Canadian victims discovered the fraud while reviewing their bank or credit card statements (26%) or credit reports (8%), while 30% reported that their bank or credit card company first discovered the fraud, the ITIC poll found.