New Canadian Identity Theft Support Centre Official Launch!

The Canadian Identity Theft Support Centre (CITSC) is scheduled for its official launch on June 28, 2012. The CITSC will be Canada's first comprehensive support centre for victims of identity theft. It will provide much needed support services for victims of identity theft who undertake the often long and difficult road to recovering their identities. This identy recovery process is typically lengthy and time-consuming. Modelled on the successful U.S. based Identity Theft Resource Center, the CITSC will operate as a source of guidance for Canadians in their attempts to navigate this process.

The CITSC will also act as a source of educational materials aimed at educting Canadians on how to protect their identities and on steps that can be taken by Canadians to help spot early signs their identity may have been stolen. In addition, the CITSC will act as a source of research and knowledge dissemination regarding the parameters and nature of identity theft harms in Canada. 

CIPPIC is highly supportive of the CITSC's initiatives, and will be participating in the public launch of the Centre. Join us in person at the Ottawa launch, which will be held from 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm EST in the Newfoundland Room of the Westin (11 Colonel By Drive) in Ottawa. The Centre will be simultaneously launched in Vancouver, B.C., at Library Square.

Identity theft is a serious problem in our increasingly interconnected age. Often, fraudulent charges will be difficult to dismiss, and can have serious implications for credit ratings. As noted in an CITSC ID Recovery toolkit:

Cases of identity theft vary widely in terms of the damage they cause to victims. In some cases, you may be quickly reimbursed (or never charged) for fraudulent transactions in your name and your credit may not be affected. Other cases can do serious damage to your credit, take months to unravel, involve many organizations, and require countless hours of your time in the process of clearing your name.

The CITSC will strive to help victims of ID Theft navigate the recovery process in more complex scenarios, while providing a valuable source of research and insight into the dimensions and nature of identity theft problems.