Ottawa police have uncovered an Internet-based scam that was used to steal personal information from unsuspecting victims who were applying for jobs.

At least 60 victims have been identified, but authorities suspect there are many more that are not yet aware that they have been duped.

The investigation was launched by police after they acted on information provided by Canada Post about a change-of-address notification, which had been completed for an Ottawa man without his knowledge.

Victims were approached after they applied for a job posting that was published online.

After being notified that they were a suitable candidate for the $70,000-a-year position, they were asked to fill out an application form and to send a $20 processing fee, police allege.

"(They lured) people through an internet site and (got) them to put in job applications for non-existent positions," Ottawa police Chief Vince Bevan told Canada AM on Thursday.

"Then what they did was use that personal information from the job application to go off and apply for credit cards and identification and social insurance cards in the victims' names."

Bevan said all of the victims that police have contacted so far have had credit cards issued in their names, which have all been delivered to the same post office box.

Two suspects were arrested after the Ottawa police services' organized fraud division executed a search warrant at a residence in Orleans on Tuesday.

Police also seized approximately 60 credit cards, social insurance cards and driver's licences from both Ontario and Quebec. Authorities allege the suspects had been operating the scam since 2002.

About $500,000 worth of merchandise was purchased with the fraudulent credit cards, police say, but they are not yet certain what the money was spent on.

A 35-year-old man, and a 31-year-old woman, both of Ottawa, are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud contrary to section 465 of the Criminal Code.

But that doesn't necessarily mean an end to the problem for the victims.

"The financial institutions are liable for the credit card losses," Bevan said.

"However, other people might be liable for things done in their name without their knowledge and that's the insidious nature of identity theft."

Bevan issued a warning to the public to beware of online scams.

"We've been trying to educate the public and get them to protect their personal information," Bevan said. "They need to be very cautious about how they share that and what they respond to when they find something on the internet."

Authorities are asking anyone who believes they may have been a victim of this scam to contact Ottawa police at 613-236-1222, extension 8338.