Identity fraud: Keeping your ID safe

Published on Wednesday 9 April 2008 10:36

Identity fraud now costs UK consumers and businesses £20bn a year. Linda Summerhayes investigates what you can do to minimise the risks of becoming a victim of this growing problem.

ON returning from holiday, most of us are faced with a mountain of mail to negotiate before we can push through the front door.

If you're a councillor with the concerns of residents to contend with, the build-up of post can be particularly severe.

So, when Edinburgh councillor Alastair Paisley returned home from a break to find he had no mail whatsoever, he was immediately suspicious.

Mr Paisley subsequently discovered someone had redirected his post to a London address, in all likelihood with the intention of stealing his identity.

You can tell a lot from what may, at first, seem like run-of-the-mill correspondence, and a name and address is a starting point for someone who wants to impersonate you for profit.

"The market for fraud is ripe as people try to make a bit of money," warns detective constable Gordon Burns.

"Your identity is a valuable asset to fraudsters and they can basically use your identity to buy products and services that they won't have to pay for."

DC Burns works for the specialist fraud unit at Lothian and Borders Police – a busy department where there is always plenty for the officers to deal with.

The problem is now so serious – around 20 billion a year in the UK alone – that a national fraud crime force is about to be established in a bid to make more of an impact.

MPs are also calling for a "fraud tsar" to be appointed to co-ordinate efforts of the Government, police and private sector.

Identity fraud is a growing problem, with government officials estimating its worth at 1.7bn a year. Official figures also show that in 2006 there were almost 171,500 cases of identity fraud – a statistic that campaigners believe represents the tip of the iceberg.

While criminals may be taking advantage of our love of internet shopping, they would not be able to do so if they didn't already know something about us.

When we submit personal details to order a service or apply for bank account or social security benefit, we expect this information to be kept safe.

What we often don't seem to realise is that keeping it secure is also something that we need to take personal responsibility for. Even the junk mail we bin without thinking is worth its weight in gold to someone looking for a name and address to target.

Add this to some account details on a bank or credit card statement, a date of birth discovered on a social networking site and the fraudster is beginning to build up a picture of who you are.

While rifling through someone's dustbin may seem far-fetched, when there is money to be made, the crooks are not shy of getting their hands dirty.

If the fraudster can piece together small nuggets of information about who you are, they can use that to make changes to accounts or redirect services to an address of their choice, and they can then start to cash in at your expense.

While the majority of identity theft is used to perpetuate credit card crime, stolen identities can also be used to open new bank accounts, divert mail, apply for social benefits, even to rent flats and apply for mortgages.

Although crooks can use this information to profit in a whole range of ways, many of us are doing absolutely nothing to stand in their way.

The first you might know you've been hit is when the bailiffs come knocking or you are turned down for a mortgage because your credit rating has plunged – something that could take years to fix.

Incredibly, it takes an average of 539 days to discover that you've become a victim of identity theft and it can then take a staggering 300 hours of frantic telephone calls and meetings to clear your name.

"It's very damaging, both emotionally and financially," says DC Burns. "If you think you've become a victim of identity fraud, you need to act very quickly."

Protecting yourself is not that difficult though – buying a shredder so that discarded documents are illegible to bin rakers is an easy step to take.

A lost wallet can also be more profitable than the cash inside and you should avoid carrying multiple credit cards, drivers licence or national insurance number information together.

Also, don't use your mother's maiden name, a house number or a date of birth as a password – these are all too easy for a fraudster to discover.

While you should obviously protect your computer from hackers, don't allow software to record your passwords.

Most of all, never, ever respond to unsolicited requests for personal information – your bank will not call you for personal information over the phone.

DC Burns sums it up when he says: "I don't think people take identity fraud seriously at all.

I'm not saying it's their own fault but if they exercise a bit of prudence, at least they are not contributing to it.

"These things do happen, all of the time, so people need to take a wee bit more care."

&#149 Further information on protecting yourself from identity fraud, visit www.eastscotlandfraud forum.org.uk.