Why is the IRCC Recycling User IDs, and Does this Practice Pose a Security Threat? | MyConsultant

Why is the IRCC Recycling User IDs, and Does this Practice Pose a Security Threat?

Like phone numbers, IRCC employee codes are recycled once an employee is no longer active.

However, the wait time between one employee using a code and the next employee receiving the same assigned code is a mere hours to several months.

All IRCC employees are assigned an identification code consisting of numbers and letters, for example, RS6789. Once an employee is no longer using the code, that code becomes inactive.

The department claims it is reusing inactive user accounts because it cannot delete them and because it's simpler to reassign a code than create a unique one for each employee or applicant. It's a practice that the IRCC has been using since 2016.

Data shows that 779 codes are recirculated, found active in airports and visa offices in foreign countries; some last logged in to the system more that a decade ago. For example, SM10353 was initially assigned to an employee in Sydney, N.S., in 2021 and had 9,540 other persons assigned to it when reporters looked in.

While Minister Sean Fraser told reporters at the CBC that the IRCC was applying an "ordinary process", the practice could pose questions of a potential risk of identity fraud and security implications for the Department of Immigration.

Here's what happens when your immigration application is assigned to inactive employees IDs | CBC News

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