If a fraud artist buys $2,000 worth of merchandise from a business that then discovers that the credit card used was falsified, this will create a huge problem for the business, which cannot afford the financial loss due to theft. In 2002, the Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus estimated that consumers, banks and credit card companies, stores and other businesses lost $2.5 billion because of identity theft.
En 2002, le Conseil Canadien des Bureaux d'éthique commerciale a estimé que les consommateurs, les banques et les sociétés de cartes de crédit, les magasins et autres entreprises ont perdu 2,5 milliards de dollars à cause du vol d'identité.