“Screaming into the Void”: Canadians’ Experiences Reporting Identity Theft

Abstract

More victims of identity theft report to private institutions, such as credit card companies and banks, than to law enforcement. Internationally, fraud victims have experienced difficulty receiving assistance from institutions, yet little research has examined the outcomes of identity theft and fraud victims in North America. This article presents findings about Canadian victims’ experiences reporting identity theft, drawn from 20 interviews with victims of identity theft in Ontario. Although some victims had positive experiences with institutions and were assisted promptly, many were let down: Some had to hound for help or were transferred repeatedly, while others felt no closure or that the process of reporting was unclear. Moreover, victims’ experiences varied even when characteristics of the identity theft incidents appeared similar, such as the type of fraud experienced and the number of accounts misused. This article closes by discussing the implications of these findings in the context of victim assistance.