Second fraud case linked to UVic data theft in B.C.

Police in Saanich, B.C.say there are now two cases of fraud they believe are connected tothe theft of thousands of employees' banking details from the University of Victoria earlier in January.

Thieves broke into the university's administrationbuilding on Jan.7 and stole a device holding the personal and banking information of 11,841 current and former UVic employees.

Sgt. Dean Jantzen says the banking information of a current UVic employee has sincebeen used to make online purchases within the last week. The fraud followstheapparent theft of thousands of dollarsfrom a former UVic employee's bank account last week.

Jantzen says police expected to see many more rip-offs as a result of the stolen information, but potential victims might not be targetted for months or even years.

"People who are victims of identity theft have to mind their accounts and their banking information well into the future, because what you can see is a fraudster who tries today with one retailer and when it doesn't work, well they wait six months and try again with another retailer."

The university has warned those who might be affected to change their bank accounts and alert credit bureaus to possible fraud.