Gone phishing? Keep your name safe

When it comes to personal safety, fear of having our identity stolen is now our top anxiety, according to research from American Express Insurance Services. The survey found that 43% of respondents feared ID theft more than getting mugged, attacked or burgled, cited by 32%. Living in fear of ID theft is actually a good thing because it means that more of us are aware of this crime and the devastation and hassle it can cause. We may be right to be fearful because ID fraud is the fastest growing crime in the UK.

Partly because of our vigilance and initiatives taken by the financial services industry actual ID theft fell to 65,043 in 2007 from 80,000 in 2006, according to the UK's fraud prevention service CIFAS. But other types of ID fraud have been going sky high. Fraud where a criminal impersonates a victim to take over a financial account or several accounts rose by 146% in the 12 months to March 2008. It's sad but true, in times of economic turmoil all types of fraud tend to rise.

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A bolt from the blue

Identity theft involves criminals using personal information about you to apply for credit cards, personal loans and even mortgages or to buy goods and services. The fraud could have been going on for months but you will only find out when a surprise bill for a repayment for something you know nothing about lands in your letterbox. The money will have gone months ago and it could run into thousands of pounds.

In account takeover fraud, ID fraudsters pretend to be the current / savings account holder so they can siphon off funds. There have also been cases of frauds in flats where the victim and fraudster live in the same building. The trickster simply intercepts his victim's mail to get to the valuable data.

There is also the worry of public organisations losing data leaving our personal details exposed to possible fraudulent use.

All it takes is a name and address

All fraudsters need is a few snippets of your personal details such as your name and address to get them started. That credit card bill in your handbag or that letter in your wallet could be your downfall - to an ID thief it's a real treasure trove.

The worst thing about being a victim of this type of fraud is you then have to persuade the provider of the product or service that you are not the customer. As long as you haven't done anything negligent, such as, revealed your security details, you will get a full refund from a financial organisation. You then have to put time in to put your credit record straight. The whole thing can take months so its worth making an attempt to make sure crooks don't get a chance.

Is your credit record correct? Check your credit reference, credit file, credit score with CreditExpert from Experian.

Are you high risk?

Some of us are more at risk than others. ID thieves are particularly keen on males in the forty-plus bracket because they have more resources and have less debt that someone younger males giving potential for greater rewards.

At a time when many of us are going away for our summer break leaving our homes empty be especially careful about locking documents away. Also think about documents you might be carrying around with you in a handbag or wallet or carelessly lying around in a car. Insurer Sheila's Wheels says that around two-thirds of women's handbags contain at least one piece of information that could be used by a fraudster.

16 July 2008 © Moneyextra.com

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