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By MICHAEL STAPLES
staples.michael@dailygleaner.com

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Fredericton police are investigating an identity-theft attempt in the city.

Officers were summoned to the HSBC Bank Canada, 520 King St., just before 6 p.m. on Dec. 30 following a call from an associate branch that an individual was on his way to Fredericton to sign a loan.

A male suspect has been identified and the probe into the incident is continuing, said Const. Ralph Currie.

Despite the ongoing investigation, Currie said, identity-theft incidents haven't been a huge problem in Fredericton, although the force constantly cautions people to be careful and aware of how easy it can happen.

"I think people are really cognizant of that for the most part," he said.

"Within our cases, we have not been receiving a lot of complaints of incidents."

According to Public Safety Canada, identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and the United States.

In the United States, complaints of identity theft made to the Federal Trade Commission increased five-fold from 31,117 in 2000 to 161,819 in 2002.

In Canada, the PhoneBusters National Call Centre received 7,629 identity theft complaints by Canadians in 2002, reporting total losses of more than $8.5 million. There were an additional 2,250 complaints in the first quarter of 2003 that reported total losses of more than $5.3 million.

Identity theft can take several forms, including the theft of documents, the taking of purses and wallets, or the theft of newly issued cards or credit-card applications from mailboxes.

Public Safety Canada said among the methods culprits use are:

* shoulder surfing, where someone looks over your shoulder or from a nearby location as you enter your personal identification number (PIN) at an ATM machine;

* skimming, where identity thieves "skim" or "swipe" customer credit cards at restaurants or cash stations by using an electronic device known as a skimmer;

* and theft from government databases.

Currie said people need to be alert when using ATMs.

"When using the bank machines, you have to be cognizant of the surroundings," Currie said.

Currie advises people to also be aware of bank-related scams.

Shysters portraying bank officials will call people and tell them their bank cards have been compromised and that they should withdraw money and take it to a representative, he said. They are also told not to inform the bank because there's an internal problem.

Over the past year, Fredericton police have put out at least five advisories warning of such scams, Currie said.

"There are all kinds of scams out there," Currie said.

"If you don't have a trusted source, don't go for it. Never withdraw money from your bank on the request of someone over the phone. Banks will never ask people to withdraw money and to deliver it to an individual."