Paisley hit by ID theft for second time

Published on Monday 23 June 2008 11:22

A SENIOR city councillor has fallen victim to identity theft for the second time inside two months.

Conservative councillor Alastair Paisley has received notification saying a gang of criminals have tried to set up a business in his name.

And it was only when Cllr Paisley, a Pentlands representative, went to his local Royal Bank of Scotland that he discovered the Bradford-based crooks had tried to register Alastair Paisley Ltd.

In a separate incident in April, he found his credit card statement had been redirected to a mystery address in London.

He said: "I just can't believe this, it's bad enough to happen once but to occur again a short time later is just ridiculous.

"It is very worrying how easy this must be. I'm not sure the banks let on just how easy it is."

On this occasion Cllr Paisley received a hoax Inland Revenue Form with the name Alastair Paisley Ltd on it. It arrived at his Juniper Green home, but had inaccurate postcodes and other contact details.

"Despite that it still looked completely genuine, it was in colour and well produced," he said. "But when I phoned the bank they seemed very concerned and put me through to the fraud team."

In the previous incident he had 12 bundles of mail redirected from his home to the London address. Police and Royal Mail are still investigating the incident.

No unauthorised transactions had been carried out on the credit card, but Cllr Paisley went to the lengths of taking out insurance in case anyone sets up another account in his name.

Little is known of the latest bid for Cllr Paisley's identification, apart from the geographical differences, or why he has now been affected twice. "I don't know if it's coincidence or what, but it's very concerning," he added.

It is thought the culprits in the initial fraud may have been attempting a type of identity theft known as "account take-over", which happens when a fraudster gets hold of credit card details.

The account is then hijacked and the offender may order a new card or change certain account details, such as the address.

According to the electoral register, the home in London is occupied by eight residents, all with different surnames.

Because of his position Cllr Paisley receives a lot of mail, he said, but became concerned when financial statements dried up.

It is understood the redirection was arranged over the internet. According to the Royal Mail, this should only be possible "subject to successful verification of your identity".