CRTC looking at possible changes to how account information is ported

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is looking into changes that can be made to the way Canadians move their account information from carrier to carrier.

The CRTC told 650 CKOM on Monday that it has reached out to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), looking to obtain more information on how to protect Canadians’ personal information.

In 2011, the CRTC required that customer confirmation needs to be obtained through multiple methods to prevent unauthorized transfers.

Those include written confirmation, an oral order through either an independent third party or an audio recording of consent, electronic order confirmation through either a toll-free number or the Internet, or an order obtained through other methods, as long as an objective documented record of customer consent is created.

According to the CRTC, the CTWA has until Feb. 13 to provide a response to the CRTC’s request.

In an emailed statement, the commission said it “expects that companies verify the veracity of the information provided in order to ensure that the proof is valid.”

The request for additional information comes on the heels of a southeastern Saskatchewan family’s identification scam.

In an interview with 650 CKOM on Saturday, Andrew and Laurie Johnson said they were “told that there have been some emergency meetings with the CRTC this week, and the changes are coming,” with the way account information is transferred.

The Johnsons’ identity theft scam left them out hundreds of thousands of dollars. They said they didn’t notice the scam until their phones stopped working, as their accounts and phone numbers were ported from SaskTel to Telus.

They have since recovered the funds, along with their accounts being fully restored to SaskTel.

– With files from 650 CKOM’s Sheena Roszell