Identity fraud continues to rise in the UK, hitting an all-time high of 174,523 cases in 2017. According to the latest report by fraud prevention service Cifas, 95% of these cases involved the impersonation of an innocent victim and 8 out of 10 fraudulent applications were made online. Research by virtual private network comparison site Top10VPN.com revealed that fraudsters operating on the dark web could buy a person's entire identity for just £820.
ID theft can take a number of forms. These include the physical theft of personal possessions and mail giving access to personal information; hacking software used to steal personal information from computers and smart phones; cold-calling or vishing, where fraudsters pretend to be a genuine business checking on personal details; phishing where fraudsters send an email posing as a reputable company and ask the recipient to download a link which then allows them to access personal details; and data breach, where customer information is stolen from a service organisation.
Many organisations provide advice for consumers on how to protect their identity, some examples include:
- Shred papers containing personal details before throwing them away;
- Never reveal password, login details and account numbers to callers;
- If you are concerned about the source of a call, wait five minutes and call back;
- Check statements carefully and report anything suspicious to the bank or financial service provider concerned;
- Notify financial providers if an expected bank or credit card statement doesn’t arrive;
- When moving house, use a Royal Mail redirect service for 12 months
- Change online passwords frequently and use obscure passwords
- Keep security software on computers, tablets and phones up to date.
