Updated: Tue Jun. 17 2008 22:37:49

ctvbc.ca

Vancouver leads the country in cases of stolen mail, part of an epidemic of identity theft here, authorities say in the first of a four-part CTV series.

The city is a bonanza for identity thieves, who use stolen credit card statements and cheques to drain victims' bank accounts, said Sgt. Ken Athans, who runs the Vancouver Police Department's identity theft task force.

"It's huge business in Vancouver," he said. "It's only growing. It will only get bigger.

"It's high gain and low risk, more people are going to get into it and that's what's happening in Vancouver," he said.

At any one time, police are keeping track of 300 identity thieves in Vancouver alone, with 30 to 40 of them considered chronic offenders who make thousands of dollars a day, Athans said.

Vancouver is at the centre of a perfect storm, he said. Crystal meth addicts who need to support an expensive lifestyle turned to the high density of Vancouver's West End and Yaletown to find a lot of mail in a small area.

All they need is a few pieces of personal information from a credit card application or a bank statement to con online and telephone banking systems into opening up your account, Athans said.

"You have a target-rich environment," he said.

Athans said he's worried that identity thieves, who are targeting Vancouverites, will widen the hunt when the city welcomes the world for the Olympics in 2010.

It's going to be huge with all the tourists here, the quick changing of money, different-looking ID," he said. "It's going to be ripe for ID criminals."

Three years ago, someone stole Lionel Hondier's tax return from his mailbox. Since then, every few months, someone has drained his bank account.

"It's very frustrating," Hondier told CTV News.

"Someone can mug you and rob you in the street and they can take what's on you," he said. "But someone can go into your account and empty your whole account."

A dedicated crown prosecutor, Peter Stabler, convicts an identity thief every other business day in Vancouver.

Authorities struggling to keep up with the problem are appointing another dedicated crown prosecutor in Surrey as well, said Stabler.

But the crime is so lucrative that some people view jail time as just a cost of doing business, he said.

"It's the same people who keep showing up, every few months," Stabler said. "And Vancouver is way ahead of the pack."

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Jonathan Woodward

Comments are now closed for this story

Henry Lorteau
you would think that owners of buildings should think of their tenants, not the cost effect thing, well that is also because people don't care about others.

Terry
These cronic offender should be forced to serve increasingly longer jail terms or increase the minimum time. What is wrong with our court systems? When criminals in Canada think that serving their jail time is just part of doing business.

Diane
Canada Post has to be held more accountable for the valuable personal information they are entrusted with. Our mail has been misdelivered over the years and my credit card info was found in the possession of an identity theft ring. A police investigation found nothing else amiss re how we deal with receipts and statements. Our mail box drops right into our house

Volta
here's an idea -- why don't we use e-mail instead?

CR
There seems to be a fundamental problem in Canada when it's undertsood by the Crown that despite having spent 'x' amount of dollars prosecuting an individual (maybe even successfully), they will knowingly spend that money once again to go after that same individual. It's a continuous cycle punctuated by the consistent hemorrhaging of money from a system that already claims to be in less than stellar financial condition.

EDIOT
Stupid LAW
I THINK CANADA IS A STUPID COUNTRY IN THE WORLD . BECAUSE THE GOVERMENT SUPPORT THE CRIME THAT WHY THE ADDICT DRUG DON'T CARE VERY MUCH ABOUT THE LAW .WHY DON'T YOU PUT THOSE GUY IN THE JUNGLE

Guido
How about not making it so easy for these losers to get into your bank account? Hello, banks?

Another thing is to post their pictures on a web site so the public can watch for them in their buildings.

Daxa J
I think we sould make those credit card company accountable for this. Why would they send un-called credit card applications and why would they approve new credit cards without proper verifications. I called Trans Union and Equifax to put a note on the file to verify my identity as advised by an RCMP officer and both equifax and Transunion refuced it until I can provide them the proof that I have been subjected to Identity Theft. So they only do it after you are victimized. You are not allowed to be pro active. Why?
Daxa J

Joe Nollet
If meth is a main contributer to id thefts in Vancouver, then hold onto your hats because it will get worse. Before retiring, I worked in California with DOJ/BNE working meth labs and street level drug sales. We always found other person's financial info at the illegal lab or on the criminal arrested.

I am now a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist and offer plans to protect individuals in the US and 4 provinces of Canada, including BC.

www.stopidtheftcrime.blogspot.com

Lisa
Credit card companies should stop sending "invite" applications in the mail. If I want a credit card, I'll apply for one via secure channels.