Most of the people charged are from Brampton, between the ages of 26 and 60.
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Synthetic-identity fraud involves the combination of real information, such as a person’s SIN, with fake information like false names or birth dates in order to create a new identity for financial gain.
Police say the perpetrators created more than 680 unique synthetic identities and many were used to apply for and open hundreds of bank accounts and credit accounts at various banks and financial institutions across Ontario.
“These fraudsters are really smart, they are advancing with technology. The identification is very convincing,” said Toronto police Det. David Coffey of the financial crimes unit.Â
Coffey added that while these fraudulent IDs often get caught at financial institutions, that isn’t always the case.
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Toronto police says it executed more than 20 search warrants and were able to locate and seize several dozen synthetic identity documents and electronic templates to create false identifications and documents. These documents included fraudulent government identification.
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“Our work here isn’t done. We believe there are other people who are complicit in this scheme and we’re working to identify them. We also believe in additional incidents and victims,” Coffey said.
The investigation initially began when a financial institution found several synthetic accounts, most of which had been opened by a single person who had previously worked on behalf of the company.
From there, the financial crimes unit started its investigation which quickly grew into execution of numerous search warrants.
Halton police were also involved in the investigation.
Investigators hope to speak with anyone who has information. In particular, they want to speak with businesses that were approached by the individuals charged for the purposes of applying for or opening accounts.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7300, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.
