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Identity theft is a growth sector for Canadian criminals, police say, with the numbers almost tripling in the last year.

There were 12,000 such cases in Canada in 2002, police say. That same figure was reached by June this year, which means the 2003 total could well be double that of last year.

Police believe organized crime is behind the increase, searching for victims through computer transactions and through corrupt contacts at banks.

Glenn Robb was a victim of identity theft. He believes thieves stole his mail and got access to critical information, such as his credit card numbers, that way. They then moved quickly, extending his credit line, applying for Visas, opening new fraudulent accounts.

They also robbed him of about $15,000 and created fake passports in his name. He says the whole experience has been humiliating. "It violates your privacy and it makes you feel very uncomfortable, makes you feel like it can happen again fairly easily," he told Canada AM Wednesday.

Police say their job is made more difficult by the fact that when they discover one victim, the criminals have moved on to a different jurisdiction.

"The victims are right across the country and what we need is to have a national coordinated strategy to fight this crime," Sgt. Barry Elliott of the Ontario Provincial Police tells CTV.

Elliott runs the Phonebusters program. It was established by the Ontario Provincial Police's Anti-Rackets branch in 1993 to centralize the collection of financial scam complaints in the province. The RCMP entered into an agreement two years ago with the OPP to expand Phonebusters as a national call centre to handle complaints from across Canada and internationally. It now collects approximately 200-300 telephone complaints a day, mostly concerning telemarketing fraud, identity theft and West African letter scams.

Bob Whitelaw, president of the Better Business Bureau in Ottawa says identity theft is a relatively new crime that can have devastating effects for a victim's credit rating, and emotional wellbeing. But he notes there are a number of things Canadians can do to protect themselves.

"First off, everyone should have a shredder, whether a portable hand crank shredder or a small electric shredder in their home, destroy the personal information when it comes.
"Secondly, treat your SIN number as the key to the vault and that is don't carry it with you. Memorize the nine numbers and know it's only for use for certain government reasons.
"Change your PIN number on your bank accounts quarterly. Make sure you get an annual credit check also. Make sure each year you check your credit record.
"Don't have an outside unlocked postal box. Have one where the material goes right inside your door or at a lock box. that's key.
"When you're at the bank machine, don't discard and throw that piece of paper into the garbage because someone might be right behind you, ready to pick it up and get some valuable information.
"By all means do not give out any personal information when you're uncomfortable in your environment. Guard your credit cards jealously, but more importantly, guard your personal information jealously, because that thief is out there trying to get it."