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Fraud boss calls for stiffer penalties
Fraud and identity theft are not white caller crimes. And Ken McLachlin is calling for stiffer penalties.
McLachlin, the head of the Sarnia Police Service's fraud and I.D. investigations told the Rotary Club of Sarnia Bluewaterland "the criminal code in Canada identifies fraud and identity theft as white collar crimes but they aren't."
McLachlin says, "organized crime has realized it has a huge return with little chance of getting caught and the penalties are inadequate".
Until this past April, possession of someone's identity was not illegal in Canada. And while the change will assist police in their investigations it still isn't enough.
McLachlin says fraud and identity theft in the United States carry penalties of 15 to 20 years. He's advocating similar penalties here.
McLachlin says fraud and I.D. theft have surpassed drug and gun crimes in the number of incidents.
Ontario, he says, is the top province targeted by fraudsters with losses of more than $10.9 million last year. Residents 50 to 59 were the primary targets reporting losses of $6.2 million.
Locally he says thieves hang out at Canatara Park waiting for visitors to leave their vehicles. A professional criminal can be in and out in less than a minute. Soccer moms are also a favoured target.
At area banks, McLachlin warns customers to be aware of their surrounding and people "who want to assist at Automated Teller Machines." Thieves connected to organized crime have been known to place false fronts on local banking machines to grab assess card information.
And while Sarnia Police are periodically called in to investigate, McLachlin says a majority of banks "investigate internally. They are in the business of keeping customers. They will absorb the loss while they investigate."
Bruce Miller, branch manager of the Bank of Montreal downtown says at his branch "local police are involved regularly as part of the possesses, if only to let those who would try to defraud know that there are real consequences." Miller says in a number of cases the bank has been able to get restitution and calling police in is part of the reporting procedure.
"We need to supply police case numbers."
Sarnia Police have 12 criminal investigators. McLachlin says fraud is "very time consuming" and there is a backlog investigating major cases.
September, 2010
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