Today, the Toronto Police Service announced 12 arrests and 102 charges laid in a major synthetic-identity fraud investigation dubbed Project Deja Vu.
Synthetic-identity fraud is typically defined as a form of financial fraud in which a real person’s information, such as their Social Insurance Number or date of birth, is stolen and combined with other falsified personal information to create a new identity.
In October 2022, Toronto Police’s started a lengthy investigation into an alleged synthetic-identity credit fraud scheme that dates back to 2016, police said in a press release today (April 29).
More than 680 unique synthetic identities were created and many were used to apply for and open hundreds of bank accounts and credit accounts at various banks and financial institutions across Ontario, police said.
These bank accounts or credit cards were then used for in-store and online purchases, cash withdrawals, or electronic fund transfers.