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IDENTITY THEFT IN CANADA: A program -- called Verified by Visa and already under way in the U.S. -- will be implemented in Canada in April

Jim Jamieson 
The Province 
Tuesday, January 21, 2003

With the intention of courting the majority of Canadian Internet users who don't shop online because of concerns about fraud, Visa Canada plans to strengthen the security of credit-card purchases on the web.

The new system, which is in the process of being rolled out globally by Visa, adds a password to the user's credit-card number. The password -- separate from a PIN number -- is automatically checked online by the user's banking institution before giving the go-ahead to a merchant.

The program -- called Verified by Visa and already under way in the U.S. -- will be implemented in Canada in April.

A survey done for Visa Canada in November found that 85 per cent of credit-card holders with Internet access were unlikely to purchase holiday gifts online, said eVisa Canada director Susan MacKeown. The main reasons cited were security and fraud concerns.

"The overall dollar value for Internet fraud is actually very low," MacKeown said, "but, as a percentage of Internet sales, it's higher than a face-to-face environment."

Future Shop spokeswoman Lori DeCou said the electronics retailer has seen website sales increase and looks forward to participating in the initiative.

"We take security very seriously and we welcome any benefits that would provides even stronger measures," said DeCou.

According to Visa, cardholders in Canada spent $772 million in online shopping during the 2002 holiday season -- up 103 per cent over 2001.

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