With the news of the Equifax breach consumers are left reeling, not sure what action to take to prevent identity theft.  There are tons of articles talking about credit freezes, alerts and monitoring. Most of this information refers to laws and services particular to US citizens. Some are not even available in Canada.  As a Canadian, what do you do?

1. Contact Equifax

• Visit the Equifax site for details.
• All impacted customers will be contacted directly. If you have not been contacted, call them at 1-866-699-5712.

2. Set up a credit file alert.

• With a credit file alert, a request for a new credit product or a change in a credit product cannot be approved without confirmation with the consumer who owns the credit.  This prevents fraudsters from signing up for new credit cards or loans as well as preventing them from increasing credit limits.
• A credit file alert should be set up with both Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada. Each provider has different types of alerts and they don’t share information. Contact the companies for details.
• Equifax will be providing free credit monitoring and identify theft protection for 12 months to everyone who is impacted. Equifax will contact you directly with the details.

3. Check your credit report monthly.

• You can get a credit report from Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada for free.
• Look for signs of fraud.

4. Sign up for credit monitoring.

• Be notified of new debts.

If your identify is stolen or accounts are accessed:

1. Contact your local police department and get a police case number.
2. Contact all your financial institutions and give them the police case number to  hold in your file.
3. Call Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada and have them place the police case number on your credit reports.
4. Report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.