Identity information

403

(1) Everyone commits an offence who fraudulently personates another person, living or dead,

  • (a) with intent to gain advantage for themselves or another person;
  • (b) with intent to obtain any property or an interest in any property;
  • (c) with intent to cause disadvantage to the person being personated or another person; or
  • (d) with intent to avoid arrest or prosecution or to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice.
    Marginal note:Clarification

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), personating a person includes pretending to be the person or using the person’s identity information — whether by itself or in combination with identity information pertaining to any person — as if it pertains to the person using it.
Marginal note:Punishment

(3) Everyone who commits an offence under subsection (1)

  • (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years; or
  • (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Section 402- fraudulent misrepresentation

Identity theft

402.2

(1) Everyone commits an offence who knowingly obtains or possesses another person’s identity information in circumstances giving rise to a reasonable inference that the information is intended to be used to commit an indictable offence that includes fraud, deceit or falsehood as an element of the offence.
Marginal note:Trafficking in identity information

(2) Everyone commits an offence who transmits, makes available, distributes, sells or offers for sale another person’s identity information, or has it in their possession for any of those purposes, knowing that or being reckless as to whether the information will be used to commit an indictable offence that includes fraud, deceit or falsehood as an element of the offence.
Marginal note:Clarification

(3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), an indictable offence referred to in either of those subsections includes an offence under any of the following sections:

  • (a) section 57 (forgery of or uttering forged passport);
  • (b) section 58 (fraudulent use of certificate of citizenship);
  • (c) section 130 (personating peace officer);
  • (d) section 131 (perjury);
  • (e) section 342 (theft, forgery, etc., of credit card);
  • (f) section 362 (false pretence or false statement);
  • (g) section 366 (forgery);
  • (h) section 368 (use, trafficking or possession of forged document);
  • (i) section 380 (fraud); and
  • (j) section 403 (identity fraud).
    Marginal note:Jurisdiction

(4) An accused who is charged with an offence under subsection (1) or (2) may be tried and punished by any court having jurisdiction to try that offence in the place where the offence is alleged to have been committed or in the place where the accused is found, is arrested or is in custody. However, no proceeding in respect of the offence shall be commenced in a province without the consent of the Attorney General of that province if the offence is alleged to have been committed outside that province.
Marginal note:Punishment

(5) Everyone who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2)

  • (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years; or
  • (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Section 184- Wiretapping Laws in Canada

Interception

184

(1) Every one who, by means of any electro-magnetic, acoustic, mechanical or other device, wilfully intercepts a private communication is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
Marginal note:Saving provision

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to

  • (a) a person who has the consent to intercept, express or implied, of the originator of the private communication or of the person intended by the originator thereof to receive it;
  • (b) a person who intercepts a private communication in accordance with an authorization or pursuant to section 184.4 or any person who in good faith aids in any way another person who the aiding person believes on reasonable grounds is acting with an authorization or pursuant to section 184.4;
  • (c) a person engaged in providing a telephone, telegraph or other communication service to the public who intercepts a private communication,

(i) if the interception is necessary for the purpose of providing the service,

(ii) in the course of service observing or random monitoring necessary for the purpose of mechanical or service quality control checks, or

(iii) if the interception is necessary to protect the person’s rights or property directly related to providing the service;

  • (d) an officer or servant of Her Majesty in right of Canada who engages in radio frequency spectrum management, in respect of a private communication intercepted by that officer or servant for the purpose of identifying, isolating or preventing an unauthorized or interfering use of a frequency or of a transmission; or
  • (e) a person, or any person acting on their behalf, in possession or control of a computer system, as defined in subsection 342.1(2), who intercepts a private communication originating from, directed to or transmitting through that computer system, if the interception is reasonably necessary for

(i) managing the quality of service of the computer system as it relates to performance factors such as the responsiveness and capacity of the system as well as the integrity and availability of the system and data, or

(ii) protecting the computer system against any act that would be an offence under subsection 342.1(1) or 430(1.1).
Marginal note:Use or retention

(3) A private communication intercepted by a person referred to in paragraph (2)(e) can be used or retained only if

  • (a) it is essential to identify, isolate or prevent harm to the computer system; or
  • (b) it is to be disclosed in circumstances referred to in subsection 193(2).

Section 342- Criminal Law in Canada

Theft, forgery, etc., of credit card

342

(1) Every person who

  • (a) steals a credit card,
  • (b) forges or falsifies a credit card,
  • (c) possesses, uses or traffics in a credit card or a forged or falsified credit card, knowing that it was obtained, made or altered
  • (i) by the commission in Canada of an offence, or
  • (ii) by an act or omission anywhere that, if it had occurred in Canada, would have constituted an offence, or
  • (d) uses a credit card knowing that it has been revoked or cancelled,

is guilty of

  • (e) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or
  • (f) an offence punishable on summary conviction.
    Marginal note:Jurisdiction

(2) An accused who is charged with an offence under subsection (1) may be tried and punished by any court having jurisdiction to try that offence in the place where the offence is alleged to have been committed or in the place where the accused is found, is arrested or is in custody, but where the place where the accused is found, is arrested or is in custody is outside the province in which the offence is alleged to have been committed, no proceedings in respect of that offence shall be commenced in that place without the consent of the Attorney General of that province.
Marginal note:Unauthorized use of credit card data

(3) Every person who, fraudulently and without colour of right, possesses, uses, traffics in or permits another person to use credit card data, including personal authentication information, whether or not the data is authentic, that would enable a person to use a credit card or to obtain the services that are provided by the issuer of a credit card to credit card holders is guilty of

  • (a) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years; or
  • (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.
    Marginal note:Definitions

(4) In this section,

personal authentication information means a personal identification number or any other password or information that a credit card holder creates or adopts to be used to authenticate his or her identity in relation to the credit card; (authentifiant personnel)

traffic means, in relation to a credit card or credit card data, to sell, export from or import into Canada, distribute or deal with in any other way. (trafic)