What are the red flags of this scam?

You receive an unsolicited call, email, or text claiming your driver's licence was exposed in a data breach and offering to 'remove' it from the dark web for a fee — no service can remove data from the dark web • Someone contacts you with highly accurate personal details (your full name, home address, date of birth, or ID number) claiming to be from a bank, government agency, or credit bureau you never contacted • A new credit card, loan, telecom account, or bank account appears on your credit report that you did not open — this is classic new-account fraud using stolen identity documents • A caller asks you to verify your driver's licence number, SIN, or banking details to 'secure' your account after the breach — legitimate notifications never require you to confirm ID over the phone • An email with IDScan or credit bureau branding links to a login page asking for sensitive personal information — verify directly at equifax.ca or transunion.ca by typing the address yourself

What should I do if this happened to me?

Place a fraud alert or credit freeze at Equifax Canada (1-800-465-7166) and TransUnion Canada (1-800-663-9980) — this blocks new accounts being opened in your name without extra verification • Request your free credit reports at equifax.ca and transunion.ca and review every account you did not open — dispute any you do not recognize • If IDScan.net notified you directly, follow their instructions to enroll in the free credit monitoring they are offering to potentially affected individuals • If a scammer contacts you offering to remove your data from the dark web: hang up and do not pay — no service can permanently delete data once it is in circulation on dark web markets • Report any identity theft or new fraud accounts to your local police, the RCMP, and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca • Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or call 1-888-495-8501.

HIGH phishing Last reported: Sep 25, 2026 Share

The IDScan.net data breach exposed your driver's licence scan — now scammers are using it

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. IDScan.net, a firm that scans IDs at bars and retailers, confirmed a breach of 153M+ driver's licence records on September 1 2026. Criminals use the stolen scans for new account fraud and send targeted phishing using your personal details. Scammers also cold-call victims offering to "remove" the record from the dark web — for a fee.

IDScan.net, a firm that scans IDs at bars and retailers, confirmed a breach of 153M+ driver's licence records on September 1 2026. Criminals use the stolen scans for new account fraud and send targeted phishing using your personal details. Scammers also cold-call victims offering to "remove" the record from the dark web — for a fee.

Also known as: IDScan data breach Canada, driver's licence dark web breach Canada, Nexus dark web ID breach Canada, fake credit monitoring call after data breach, driver's licence identity theft Canada 2026

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 Place a fraud alert or credit freeze at Equifax Canada (1-800-465-7166) and TransUnion Canada (1-800-663-9980) — this blocks new accounts being opened in your name without extra verification
2 Request your free credit reports at equifax.ca and transunion.ca and review every account you did not open — dispute any you do not recognize
3 If IDScan.net notified you directly, follow their instructions to enroll in the free credit monitoring they are offering to potentially affected individuals
4 If a scammer contacts you offering to remove your data from the dark web: hang up and do not pay — no service can permanently delete data once it is in circulation on dark web markets
5 Report any identity theft or new fraud accounts to your local police, the RCMP, and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca
6 Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or call 1-888-495-8501.

Red flags

⚠ You receive an unsolicited call, email, or text claiming your driver's licence was exposed in a data breach and offering to 'remove' it from the dark web for a fee — no service can remove data from the dark web
⚠ Someone contacts you with highly accurate personal details (your full name, home address, date of birth, or ID number) claiming to be from a bank, government agency, or credit bureau you never contacted
⚠ A new credit card, loan, telecom account, or bank account appears on your credit report that you did not open — this is classic new-account fraud using stolen identity documents
⚠ A caller asks you to verify your driver's licence number, SIN, or banking details to 'secure' your account after the breach — legitimate notifications never require you to confirm ID over the phone
⚠ An email with IDScan or credit bureau branding links to a login page asking for sensitive personal information — verify directly at equifax.ca or transunion.ca by typing the address yourself

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Sources