What should I know about the Social Insurance Number and fraud?

Your Social Insurance Number (SIN) is confidential. There are a number of things that you can do to protect your SIN.

If your SIN falls into the wrong hands, it could be used to obtain personal information and invade your privacy. When the SIN is not linked to you as its rightful owner, another person could receive your government benefits, tax refunds or bank credits. Furthermore, your personal information could be revealed to unauthorized people, which could lead to identity theft and other types of fraud.

If someone uses your SIN to work illegally or to obtain credit, you may suffer hardship. You could be requested to pay additional taxes for income you did not receive or you could have difficulty obtaining credit because someone may have ruined your credit rating.