Fifty-five people who applied for a passport have been told to be on the lookout for identity theft after their passport applications disappeared en route to the federal government's processing facility.
The applications were among a total of 61 that were lost, some after being handled by a Service Canada facility in Kelowna, B.C. and some after they went through a Canada Post outlet in the city.
All the applications were sent in March to Passport Canada's processing facility in Gatineau, Que., via Canada Post's Priority Courier.
Trudy O'Rourke, of Vernon, B.C., said she and her husband Bill are among those whose passport applications have gone missing.
Ms. O'Rourke said Passport Canada officials confirmed that Canada Post was responsible for their loss and they believe identity theft may be involved.
“They said, ‘You better check your bank [account].' This is a little bit late, after two months, to start checking your bank account.”
“They didn't admit to knowing anything, whereas we had heard that [the passports] were stolen at the Calgary airport.”
Sébastien Bois, a spokesman for Passport Canada, said applicants have been warned about the identity theft possibility because their applications included supporting documents such as birth certificates and citizenship cards.
“You could review your bank account, credit card and other financial statements,” Mr. Bois said, adding applicants who discover something wrong should contact their bank.
Mr. Bois said the agency wasn't able to get in touch with the remaining six passport applicants to inform them someone may use their personal information to steal their identity.
John Caines, a Canada Post spokesman, said the agency is taking the matter seriously and has launched an investigation with Passport Canada, the RCMP and Service Canada.
But he said it's premature to think the passport applications and other documents could be used to steal someone's identity.
“You're really jumping to conclusions that people have taken this information and done something with it,” he said.
“To our knowledge we've not heard of anything that's been compromised.”
Mr. Caines noted Canada Post delivers 40 million pieces of mail every day and that its courier system is secure.
“We handle thousands of passport applications and passport returns and nothing happens,” he said from Ottawa.
Mr. Caines said he knows about only one previous incident of missing passport applications packages. However, three cities were involved – Lethbridge and Medicine Hat in southern Alberta and Cranbrook, B.C.
He said the investigation into those incidents from last fall is continuing, along with the current one.
Federal privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart has already slammed Passport Canada for its lack of security measures to protect personal information.
“Should passport information fall into the wrong hands it could be lost, destroyed or misused,” she said in a report last December after an audit of Passport Canada.
“The theft and misuse of personal information could potentially result in serious consequences to the individual to whom the personal information relates, such as identity theft and financial fraud.”
Ms. Stoddart's audit also found that once applications arrive at Passport Canada's facility for processing, the information is not protected from potential misuse.
“Passport applications and supporting documents were kept in clear plastic bags on open shelves,” her report said.
Documents containing personal information were sometimes tossed in regular garbage and recycling bins and some documents that were shredded could be easily put back together.
Mr. Bois said Passport Canada has made some changes in response to Ms. Stoddart's concerns, including an agreement to work with Service Canada, which allowed the agency to contact people whose passport applications had gone missing en route from Kelowna.
“As soon as they see that the document has not been delivered to Passport Canada, they must provide us with the name and contact number of applicants so we're able to reach them really rapidly,” he said.
Roy said the 43 people who filed their applications at the Service Canada outlet before they vanished in March were contacted by May 5.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1145312/ 
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