Think it can’t happen to you? Identity theft on the rise in Canada

When Joelle Farrow woke up last June to an alert that her email password had changed, she thought it was strange. But she wasn't worried—at first. Then, when she tried to send a text message and it didn't go through, she knew something was wrong.

“I went to my computer to figure out what was happening. I could no longer sign in to my email,” recalls Farrow, an actor and influencer who relies heavily on email and social media for her work. Pretty soon, she started to panic.

“I was logged out, but I could still see alerts coming in. I started seeing my Instagram password changing and my Uber Eats password changing.”

Farrow realized, with a sinking sensation, that she used the same password for most of her logins, which meant her banking information was at risk. Quickly, she got on the phone and started calling her financial institutions. Luckily, by the time her cards were cancelled and accounts secured, the thief had only made one charge: $100 worth of Uber Eats.

It could have been much worse, but the incident was still a wake-up call for Farrow. “You always think it's

not going to happen to you, and then it does,” she says.

Farrow's experience is all too common. According to a recent study by TELUS and Angus Reid Institute, 45 per cent of Canadians have experienced a data breach or know someone who has.

“As Canadians, we like to think this isn't really happening here,” says Leigh

Tynan, cybersecurity expert and Director of TELUS Online Security. TELUS Online Security Powered by Norton is a comprehensive, all-in-one solution recently launched to protect the identities, devices and online privacy of Canadians. It's the first service of its kind nationwide.

Tynan notes that according to a recent survey by Statistics Canada, just over 42 per cent of Canadians have experienced at least one type of cybersecurity incident since the beginning of the pandemic, when homebound Canadians started spending more time online, whether working from home, making financial transactions virtually or socializing through video-calling apps. Furthermore,

YOU ALWAYS THINK IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU, AND THEN IT DOES.

cybercrime has cost Canadian victims more than $163 million so far in 2021, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre

“That number is quite staggering,” says Tynan. “When almost half of us have either personally been impacted or know someone who has, that really speaks to the scope of this issue we're facing as Canadians.

“We need to behave differently, and I think that's the

growth phase Canadians are in now. We need to educate ourselves to pay attention to this issue or we risk putting our information and identities in more jeopardy.”

To help Canadians navigate ever-increasing risk online, TELUS collaborated with Norton to launch TELUS Online Security, a solution that helps to protect devices, online privacy, and personal and financial information. “The solution is multi-layered,” says Tynan. The first layer actively scans where your information is used, including the dark web and private forums where criminals conduct online business, to detect and alert customers when their personal information is found. The next layer provides real-time threat protection to secure your devices against malware attacks and viruses. It includes a secure VPN with bank-grade encryption to help protect your online privacy, whether you're at home or on public Wi-Fi.

If you do become a victim, TELUS Online Security provides a dedicated restoration expert to help restore your identity while providing reimbursement coverage up to $1 million for identity theft-related expenses, which is currently available to all Canadians except for residents of Quebec.††† With TELUS Online Security, individuals like Joelle don't have to go through the process alone.

In the end, Joelle never found out exactly how her data was stolen. She's using TELUS Online Security now and says it has given her immense peace of mind.

“I don't have that anxiety lingering over me, of needing to look over my shoulder and keep checking my phone.”

Learn more about TELUS Online Security, and see if your personal info has been exposed on the dark web:

telus.com/DarkWeb

Joelle Farrow first noticed something was wrong when she couldn’t sign into her email.