Protecting You And Your Family Against Identity Fraud

Written by: Benedict Rohan

Ways of making identity thieves look elsewhere for potential victims

Your identity is extremely valuable. You need it to prove who you arefor various purposes in your day-to-day life, such as opening a bankaccount, obtaining a loan, getting a credit card, purchasing goods orservices, applying for a passport or driving licence, or claimingbenefits. If a criminal gets hold of your personal details, they can doexactly the same things in your name without your knowledge. And it’snot rare for this to happen – the problem of identity theft isincreasing all the time and the Home Office estimates that it costs theUK economy £1.7 billion a year.

It’s therefore extremely important to keep your personal informationsafe. There are lots of things you can do to protect yourself fromidentity fraud. This practical factsheet provides some useful tips andinformation on how to do this.

Ways in which your identity might be stolen

A house burglary in which personal documents are stolen.Handbag or wallet theft.Fraudulent internet or phone banking scams in which youinadvertently give out personal details to fraudsters in the beliefthat you are being contacted by a legitimate organisation such as yourown bank.Post in your name being delivered to a previous address of yoursand used to commit fraud in your name.Having your post stolen or redirected without your permission.Internal systems fraud – for example, payroll data from employeesof the Government Tax Credit Office was stolen in 2005 and theirdetails used to falsely claim benefits.Criminals raking through your rubbish to find personalinformation.

How will you know when your identity has been stolen?

Often people first find out about it when they are refused creditbecause their credit rating has dropped.You’re not receiving any post at all, or key documents or lettersyou have been expecting do not arrive.You receive bills or invoices for goods that you didn’t purchase.There are some transactions on your bank account that you don’trecognise.You have received solicitors letters or letters from debtcollectors that have nothing to do with you.You apply for benefits and are told that you are already claiming.You receive correspondence from a government agency demandingrepayment of benefits when you have never claimed anything in the firstplace.

Who loses out?

You – your credit rating could be damaged and you might find itdifficult to obtain credit in the future. You will also have to proveto the organisations demanding payment from you that you are notresponsible for them.The government – the public purse suffers from billions of poundsworth of fraudulent tax and benefit claims every year.Financial organisations – the companies with whom your details havebeen falsely used to obtain money may never be able to recover what wasstolen in your name.

How to protect yourself against identity fraud

Don’t throw anything containing your name and address and/orotherpersonal details into the bin without shredding it first. This includesbills, bank statements, benefits statements, receipts and even unwantedpost and junk mail.Always let your bank and other organisations of which you are acustomer know when you move house.Don’t use your mother’s maiden name as a security passwordCheck your credit rating with each of the three UK creditagenciesat least once a year. (These are Experian, Equifax and Call Credit.)Don’t use the same password for all accounts.If you’re worried that someone else could easily intercept yourpost, arrange to collect important items rather than have them postedto you, e.g. credit cards or cheque books from your bank.Cancel stolen credit cards immediately.Contact the DVLA or the Passport Agency immediately if yourdriving licence or passport have been stolen.Don’t give out your credit card numbers or other personalinformation over the phone if people nearby could overhear.Check your bank and other financial statementsregularly to check for suspicious transactions.If you receive a phone call or email from what seems to be alegitimate organisation requesting personal details, check it’s genuinebefore proceeding. The best approach is to take their phone number andcall them back. Banks will never ask you for your PIN or login detailsfor their banking system.Ensure your computer is safe for making online transactions – getanti-virus software and a good firewall for protection, and only everenter personal details onto secure sites (with the prefix https in theaddress).

What to do if your identity has been stolen

Contact the organisations with whom the fraud has been committedto explain what has happened.Inform the police.Get in touch with the Royal Mail if you suspect your mail hasbeen intercepted.Contact CIFAS, the UK’s fraud protection agency, and registerwith their protection service to help prevent future fraud.Get credit reports from the three credit checking agencies toidentify exactly what has been done in your name.

Author: Benedict RohanWebsite: http://www.mortgagenation.co.ukBenedict Rohan works as a freelance finance writer. Commercial Mortgage, Homeowner Loans, Remortgages.

(c)  Identity Fraud 2007 Sitemap

Credit Report | Loans | Bleach Anime | Web Advertising | Loans