Canadian millennials are risking damage to their credit profiles and financial security by not protecting their personal information.
A study by Equifax Canada has found that fewer Canadians overall are checking their financial statements, shredding personal documents, or installing security to their computers, despite the rising threat of fraud and identity theft.
“Identity theft and fraud is more complex and sophisticated than ever, which should be of growing concern for Canadians,” said Tara Zecevic, Vice President, Fraud Prevention and Identity Management, Equifax Canada. “Millennials, in particular, should be doing more to educate themselves and protect their personal data given the incidence of credit card fraud we saw in 2018.”
Data flagged by financial institutions and tracked by Equifax Canada includes:
- Attempts of credit card fraud have increased by 42% over the last two years;
- Millennials were targeted in 48% of all fraudulent credit card applications in 2018; and
- Suspected true name fraud (when an identity thief poses as a real person in completing a credit application) has also increased by 84% over the last five years.
Although the survey highlights complacency from many Canadians, it also found that consumers are sharing less on social media (up to 43% from 39%) and more people are checking their credit reports (up to 28% from 21%). And millennials checked their credit reports more than any other age group (29%).
“Younger adults need to recognize the importance of preventing fraud before it happens,” added Zecevic. “There are so many little things consumers can do to help protect their personal information. It’s simply knowing what to do and making the time to do it.”
