Michael Wood is still looking for answers.

The Ottawa man says he became the victim of identity theft after someone hijacked his mail.

About a week and a half ago the Barrhaven resident received a confirmation from Canada Post that his mail had been successfully forwarded to another address. The problem is Wood had never applied to have his mail forwarded.

“After speaking with the Postal Inspector, it had been determined that the person who had forwarded my mail did it online, that they had paid $117 to have my mail forwarded,” Wood said.

Wood also learned that, within days, someone had applied for 7 different credit cards in his name, presumably using the personal and financial information contained in his mail.

Wood’s first instinct was to ask Canada Post where his mail was going. The crown corporation refused to tell him, saying it would be a breach of privacy. He says he was told to contact the Ottawa Police. “And the first question that the police had for me is where is your mail being forwarded to?” he recalls. “And I told them I don’t know. And the police said, well we can’t open a file.”

Wood has since spent a lot of time on the phone to Canada Post, the police, banks, and credit agencies, trying to reclaim his identity. He can’t be 100% sure, but it appears he is now getting all his mail.

What is far less certain is how someone could get his mail forwarded in the first place.

Anick Losier. Director, Media Relations at Canada Post, would only say “We are aware of Mr. Wood’s case and are currently investigating.” Losier adds “When a request for mail forwarding is made, the process involves a number of steps to authenticate the identity of the requestor.”

Michael Wood says he was told it involves four security questions based on his personal history. He says he doesn’t know what those questions are, let alone who could possibly have answered them.

He says he hasn’t heard from Canada Post or the police since he lodged his complaint, so he has yet to understand how it happened or how to prevent it from happening again. “When you realize that all of your information has been sent out somewhere all you really want to do is get a straightforward answer as to how are we going to fix this?”