It all started with an early-morning break-in at David Gajdosik's Coquitlam home last spring.
Two people smashed the window of his car, which was parked in the driveway, and used the garage door opener to get inside the house.
The pair rummaged around for whatever they could find, making off with a laptop, some electronics and a purse before being spotted by an early-rising next door neighbour and making their escape.
But the thieves weren't finished yet and the crimes that would follow were much more disruptive than a broken window.
With the bank and credit cards found in Gajdosik's wife's purse, they were able to rack up more than $3,000 in charges in less than an hour, including some purchases made at a 7-Eleven just a few blocks away.
"They phoned my bank and were able to change the PINs," he said.
Gajdosik was away on a rare business trip that week but his wife and kids were home sleeping at the time of the break-in. He said they were terrified when they realized what had happened and quickly phoned the police.
"It was pretty hard on our family," he said. "We were just starting to move on with our lives."
Or so he thought.
Fast-forward eight months to Dec. 23, 2015: The Gajdosik family was gearing up for Christmas when they received a phone call from Royal Bank saying there was suspicious activity on their account. Someone had phoned the bank saying they were Gajdosik's wife, changed the PIN on her card and was able to take out $9,000 from tellers at two separate branches within 15 minutes — $2,000 at one location and $7,000 at another. A $4,500 money transfer was attempted on the card while the fraud investigator was on the phone with the family.
Gajdosik said the bank admitted it had made an error and returned the money to his accounts.
A month later, on Jan. 24, someone attempted to purchase $2,200 worth of goods at a Costco in Burnaby with a cheque and Gajdosik's wife's Costco card. The suspect was thwarted by a store clerk, who said they would need to see a MasterCard and more ID before allowing the purchase to go through.
The next day, someone was able to open up a credit card — with a $7,500 limit — under Gajdosik's wife's name at Home Depot.
Another attempt at using the stolen identification to open up a line of credit was made at an Easy Financial location in Surrey last month. In that instance, an impersonator phoned a teller and said they had previously been defrauded and not to be alarmed if the institution saw any red flags associated with the name.
"They had received an online application for $5,000 from someone saying they were [my wife]," Gajdosik said. "He called us when he realized there were fraud warnings on [the] credit report."
The RCMP has confirmed all the incidents described above and said that an investigation is ongoing.
Richard Frank, the associate director for the International CyberCrime Research Centre, said while this type of identity theft may not occur as often as it did a decade ago, people still need to be cautious.
It is also not uncommon to have identity thieves hold off on committing frauds for a lengthy period while they collect more information on the people they are impersonating, he added.
"Quite often, these types of things are not discovered for years," he said.
Frank added that if someone suspects they have had their identity stolen, they should start a diary to record everything that happens so there is a written record of what was taken and what transactions have occurred.
He also noted that in some cases, identity thieves will sell information and identification to other criminals online.
"Online, it is very prevalent," he said. "Buying this kind of thing is very common… I wouldn't be surprised if this happened in the physical world as well."
Gajdosik said while he hasn't lost any money as a result of the frauds and attempted frauds over the last year, the incidents have taken a toll on his family.
"We are trying to move on but we keep getting sucked back in," he said. "We wanted to start 2016 off right after a tough 2015, and we are still planning to do that. We just need to know [they] can't keep doing this."
He added that he hopes that by telling his story, other people will learn from some of the problems he has faced over the last year.
According to the Coquitlam RCMP, there are things people can do to avoid having their identity stolen.
Police said people should keep a close eye on their bank and credit card accounts, and report anything unusual. Those who may be a victim of identity fraud can report their status to credit bureaus, which include EquiFax and TransUnion Canada.
People should also take care of their mail and be sure to make arrangements for pickup when they are on holidays or out of town, the police said, also noting that purses, wallets and computers should never be left in cars or places that are easily accessible, and all identity-related documents should be shredded when discarded.
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