3. Ask a consumer reporting agency to issue a fraud alert

Equifax and TransUnion are the 2 main consumer reporting agencies in Canada. You should contact both of them and ask them to issue a fraud alert for you. Each agency needs to be contacted separately.

A fraud alert stays on your credit file for 6 years. It costs about $5.00 per agency if you are not already a victim of identity theft. If you are already a victim, the consumer reporting agencies do not charge you for the fraud alert. The consumer reporting agencies can tell you if you are considered a victim of identity theft.

TransUnion’s Fraud Victim Assistance Department can help you understand how to place a fraud alert.

When a consumer reporting agency issues a fraud alert, anyone who checks your credit report will see that your identity may have been stolen. This means your creditors can then take steps to check your identity when someone tries to use your identity or accounts.

In order to place a fraud alert with Equifax, you must contact them.

For TransUnion, you can ask for a fraud alert by phone or by mail at:

Transunion Fraud Victim Assistance Department

1-800-663-9980
P.O. Box 338, LCD 1
Hamilton, Ontario
L8L 7W2

Their mail-in form is available online.

Getting your credit report

You should also ask them to send you a copy of your credit report. They must mail you a free copy of your report once per year if you ask them to. You can also get your report online, but you might have to pay for that.

Contact both agencies to find out what information they have on you in their records. Sometimes they may have different information.

Review your credit reports to see if the identity thief used your name to open any accounts or borrow any money.

If you see a new account that you did not open, tell the consumer reporting agency right away. They have to try to fix the error, and send updated copies of the report to anyone who ordered them within the last 6 months.