Consider keeping your sensitive personal information such as bank, mortgage, credit or charge Card statements, Social Insurance Card, passwords, and other documents, in a safe location accessible only to you.

Never let anyone else use your debit, credit or charge Cards, and do not share your device’s access credentials such as PIN, Passcode, Pattern or Fingerprint. If you share these access credentials with any other person, they may be able to use your Card through mobile payment methods and get access to your personal and payment information.

Accessing your account online is a great way to stay up-to-date on recent charges. American Express offers Cardmembers Account Alerts, which send you regular Balance Updates by Email or Text Messages. Visit americanexpress.ca/onlineservices to enroll.

Keep copies of your receipts and compare them to your statement. If an unrecognized charge or charges appear on one of your statements, call your Card issuer as soon as possible. When no longer required, make sure you destroy or securely dispose of any unwanted statements.

Shred documents containing your personal information before discarding them. Identity thieves have been known to “dumpster dive” to obtain discarded documents with personal information.

Review your credit report from each of the major credit bureaus once every 6-12 months; this may be the earliest way to identify fraudulent activity when you are the victim of identity theft. Check for any inaccurate information, or any transactions that you were not aware of or didn’t authorize. You may wish to occasionally review Credit Bureau Reports for your children. Identity thieves have been known to steal children's Social Insurance Numbers in order to create fraudulent accounts, as their information is not likely to be reviewed regularly.

When reviewing all of your credit reports, make sure you:

• Recognize all accounts listed in your report and confirm that the balances are in line with your records.
• Recognize all persons and entities that have requested or received a copy of your report. If you do not recognize a person or entity, you may want to inquire further.
• Confirm all inquiries to your credit report for loans or accounts. If there are accounts you do not recognize, this may be a sign that an identity thief has fraudulently opened an account in your name.
• Confirm existing and previous addresses. If there are addresses you do not recognize, this may be a sign that an identity thief has redirected your mail.
• Check that your Social Insurance Number and employment history are accurate.
• Check that all this information is consistent across all credit bureaus.

Identity thieves may pose as a representative of a legitimate organization and may contact you to “verify” your information. If you’re in doubt about the authenticity of the person, contact the company by phone and talk to a representative.

Avoid giving your Social Insurance Number to people or companies that you do not know.

Only take with you the Cards you need, and avoid carrying your Social Insurance Card, birth certificate or passport, except when necessary.

Identity thieves have been known to obtain personal information by collecting an individual's mail. Promptly remove your incoming mail from your mailbox and place outgoing mail in post office collection boxes. Install a locking mailbox if mail theft is a problem in your neighborhood.

Avoid using identical passwords for different accounts. Don't use easily available information such as mother’s maiden name, date of birth, or the last four digits of your Social Insurance Number. Use passwords on your banking and brokerage accounts, and update all of your passwords regularly.

Let us know immediately if you’ve lost your Card, or think it may be stolen. We will then be able to cancel the Card and prevent fraudulent transactions.

If you're using any mobile wallet, call us immediately at the number on the back of your Card if you believe your access credentials for your mobile payments enabled device have been lost, compromised or stolen or someone has used or may use your eligible device or your access credentials without your authorization. You should also change your access credentials immediately to avoid any unauthorized use of your Card or your personal information.

When shopping online, only use "secure" web pages. A web page is secure if there is a locked padlock in the lower right-hand corner of your browser, or if the address starts with 'https', where the 's' stands for secure.

Contacting the police allows them to start investigating the crime. You will also want to obtain a copy of the police report, the police report number, and the name of the investigator. Banks, credit Card companies, and other agencies may require this information as proof of a crime.

When filing a police report, provide as much documentation as you can to prove you've been a victim of identity theft. Documentation including collection letters and credit reports can help the police create a thorough report.

If the identity theft occurred while you were away from home, you may also need to file a police report in the jurisdiction where the theft actually occurred.

Get a copy of the police report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of a crime.

Notify the credit bureaus that you believe you’ve been a victim of identity theft, and request that your file be flagged with a "Fraud Alert." Fraud alerts expire after 5 years, and carry a $5.00 fee per credit bureau.

Request copies of your credit report from each bureau to review. If any information contained within your report is inaccurate, you may dispute it and request that it be changed.

Request your credit report again in a few months. This will help confirm that the requested changes have been made, and let you know if your report has been changed without your knowledge. This may also identify additional occurrences of identity theft.

Immediately contact your account providers and close any accounts you know or suspect involve identity fraud. Don’t forget this includes utility providers as well as banks.

Report the incident to all institutions with which you hold credit Card and ATM Cards. Ask the financial institution or agency to send you a fraud dispute form to complete. When reopening new accounts, be sure to use new PINs to reduce the risk of future identity theft.

If your financial institution is not assisting you with the issues related to your identity theft, you may contact the agency with jurisdiction over your financial institution.

Keep in mind that each creditor may have its own process for handling a case of identity theft. Therefore, be sure to specifically ask each creditor what its process is, what is expected of you, and what you can expect from them.

Your security is important to us. In the unfortunate event of a fraudulent transaction on your account, we offer a Fraud Protection Guarantee. It states that if you're a victim of fraud who has taken reasonable care to protect your account details, PIN and any device on which you have added your account information, you won't be held responsible for any fraudulent charges.