Identity fraud and thefts on the rise in Regina

The era when you could leave your vehicle unlocked is long gone and the age of social media is leaving the window cracked for criminals to steal your identity.

Regina Police Chief Evan Bray said the city has seen an increase in crime over the last decade but most of the crimes fit in with national trends. One of the most modern trends across Canada is identity theft.

In Regina, Bray said numbers are low compared to the national average, but identity fraud is still rising dramatically. In 2019, 237 people reported having their identities stolen compared to 155 the year before — and only 34 back in 2010.

“Identity theft is just so much easier today with social media, with the online availability for people to ‘phish’ information from people,” Bray explained.

“Sometimes it’s as simple as someone receiving an email and clicking on a link and it confirms the email address is valid and that just starts a chain of events that leads to the person’s identity being stolen.”

In the information age, Bray advises people to take care to protect their information online.

“The opportunity is there. People have to be much more aware, much more vigilant,” Bray said.

Bray’s comments came on the same day the Regina Police Service issued a media release warning residents of another scam.

People saying they’re from either the Canada Revenue Agency or Service Canada once again are contacting residents and saying they’re under investigation. The callers demand personal information and sometimes threaten legal action if it’s not given.

More information on scams can be found here.

Bray said identity fraud and theft is an area to which he could assign 20 officers and there wouldn’t be a shortage of work. But there also is a need for more investigators to respond to other crimes like child exploitation, so the police service has to balance the resources it has.

Regina police crime statistics show vehicle thefts were actually down by 10.8 per cent last year compared to the year before, and Bray attributes the change to people protecting themselves by keeping their doors locked and taking their keys with them.

Police are still dealing with 25 per cent more stolen vehicles than they were in 2010. Reports of theft were up overall to 7,742  last year and 41 per cent of those were reports of things being stolen from inside vehicles.

Bray said most property crimes are crimes of opportunity and people have a responsibility to take away those opportunities.

Tap card technology also has opened up an opportunity for theft in the city. Bray said thieves can take advantage of tap features on debit and credit cards by racking up purchases quickly at multiple stores before they’re even detected.