Police bust ‘organized hierarchy’ of identity thieves in year-long probe

Imagine working hard your whole life and squirreling away your savings, only for someone to steal your identity and empty your bank account. That’s what Toronto police allege an “organized hierarchy” of fraudsters were doing to unsuspecting victims in the Greater Toronto Area.

In a release, police say the group, which ranged from “low-level identity thieves to counterfeit identification makers and distributors” committed millions of dollars of theft and fraud.

They were “purchasing identity information and producing identity documents and either opening bank accounts in financial institutions, or taking over bank accounts,” explained Inspector Peter Callaghan.

Callaghan said the group also stole and tampered with tens of thousands of gift cards.

Gift cards police say were seized during a year-long investigation into fraud and identity theft. Toronto Police.

The investigation, dubbed Project Hydra, began in September 2020 and is ongoing.

So far, police have arrested four people between the ages of 25 and 46. In total they face nearly 100 theft and fraud charges.

Police allege over 37,000 stolen and tampered with gift cards have been recovered, as well as $70,000 in cash and a Porsche valued at $100,000.

A Porsche sports car police seized during a year-long investigation called Project Hydra. Toronto Police

Police are reminding citizens to protect their personal information, and keep a close eye on their mail to make sure it’s not being stolen.

“There’s multiple ways which identities are being compromised,” said Det. David Coffey. “One of the things that they do is they reroute your mail to a separate mail box giving them access to your accounts.”

To reduce the risk of being victimized, Toronto police advise the following:

• never send your personal financial information through email
• shred personal information before putting it in the garbage or recycling
• never share your PIN with anyone
• never click the link on text messages or emails from unsolicited sources.
• be aware of postal mail not arriving as before, as there is the potential for identity thieves changing the address
• only carry with you the identification you absolutely need and secure the rest
• regularly check your credit rating with Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada
• when purchasing a gift card, check the receipt at time of purchase and compare data on receipt to the numbers on the card
• physically examine gift card for signs of tampering
• use a gift card immediately after it’s purchased
• avoid buying gift cards online or checking gift card balances on sites that are not the store’s official website