Stolen lives

Lana and Jack Bogart had a healthy bank account and a comfortable life. Over the years they had saved well over $100,000 from their days running dinner theatres in Florida and had recently moved to Barrie, Ont. But between June and December 2004, their savings disappeared.

“It was partly my fault for not paying attention.”

When they got a bank statement showing a $20,000 balance on their account Jack requested a print out of all their expenditures. He says it took over a month to get it and by then another $10,000 was drained.

Lana says the statement showed multiple purchases at drug, grocery and liquor stores they didn't shop at, and other unusual activity such as more than 20 cab rides in one day.

"It was dribbling out," says Jack.

But since there weren't any large withdrawals and the purchases were made at common stores, the Bogarts couldn't prove they hadn't made them.

"It was partly my fault for not paying attention," says Lana.

The couple now lives in a cramped apartment in Ottawa’s Chinatown, all their furnishings salvaged from the street, their cupboards stocked with cans from the local food bank.

Their bank balance is $1.15. Lana Bogart tells reporter Toni Petter about losing everything.

Like thousands of Canadians, Lana and Jack are victims of identity theft.

Identity theft has been called the crime of the 21st century and is the fastest growing type of fraud in North America, totaling billions of dollars in losses to consumers, banks, credit card firms, stores and other businesses each year, according to the Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus.

Cpl. Julie Beaulieu of the commercial crime unit at RCMP headquarters in Ottawa says identity theft can range from stealing credit card information to the sale of a total identity.

Over the past several years, parliamentary committees and individual members of parliament have called for amendments to the Criminal Code to address specifically the rapidly growing problem.

A long time coming

After being stalled twice during the 39th parliament, anti-identity theft legislation finally became law in early January, much to the relief of victims and police.

Bill S-4 allows police to target identity theft in its early stages and stop it faster, says Beaulieu. Before these new laws, police couldn’t charge someone simply for being in possession of someone else’s personal documents.

This long-awaited legislation comes more than 10 years after the U.S. introduced its Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act.

“To lose it all you just have to take your eye off the ball for a second.”

That is because addressing the issue of identity theft was a long and complicated process for lawmakers, says Carole Saindon, media spokesperson for Justice Canada.

"It was relatively novel for the Criminal Code to prohibit actions in respect to information," she says.

Prior to Bill S-4, most of the Criminal Code offences relating to property pre-dated both the computer and the Internet, so it was difficult for non-physical or virtual information to be characterized as property.

The courts also held that violating the confidentiality of personal information didn’t constitute fraud or theft. 

Adapting to the Internet age

Before the Internet and related technology, gaining access to someone else’s personal information meant stealing a purse or breaking into a car. Today it allows thieves to transmit stolen data quickly and easily.

People can hack databases containing large amounts of personal information, or phish for it using false websites that often have the appearance of a legitimate site, says Beaulieu.

Lana says she thinks their debit card was compromised online.

She says she thought she was using her online banking site and was prompted to enter her name, address, debit card number and pin.

Jack and Lana Bogart on their couch. The only item in their apartment that wasn't free.

Information from phishing schemes is most commonly used to apply for credit cards, open bank accounts or obtain loans, says Beaulieu. “[The thieves] want fast cash.”

There is also a growing trend for stolen or reproduced personal documents to be used by illegal immigrants, to conceal criminal records or to facilitate organized crime and terrorism, she says.

The RCMP is still phasing in the new the law and won’t have any statistics available on its use for a few months.

“The change was necessary,” says Beaulieu.

Although the Bogarts will likely never have the bank balance they once did, the new law does offer them a glimmer of hope.

If someone turns up using their debit card they could be charged under the new law, giving the Bogart’s a sense of closure, after years of not knowing who brought their world crumbling down.

“We’ve had the highs in life… but at this point I don’t see us getting back to where we were at,” says Jack.

 “To lose it all you just have to take your eye off the ball for a second.”

Gone in an instant