Cookie policy
Follow this topicFollow this topic Knowledge » Scams

Identity fraud: 20m pieces of personal info traded illegally this year

John Fitzsimons
by Lovemoney Staff John Fitzsimons on 02 October 2012  |  Comments 2 comments

As National Identity Fraud Prevention Week kicks off, new research finds almost 20 million pieces of personal information have been illegally traded by fraudsters this year.

Identity fraud: 20m pieces of personal info traded illegally this year

Almost 20 million pieces of personal information were illegally traded by fraudsters in the first half of this year.

That’s the findings of the latest fraud research by Experian CreditExpert.

Between January and June 19.7 million pieces of info were bought and sold between crooks. That’s more than the whole of 2011. If this level continues, then there will have been a fourfold increase on 2010.

The research was released to coincide with the start of National Identity Fraud Prevention Week. So what can you do to make sure some thief doesn’t end up with your details?

How to ensure your identity isn’t stolen

There are plenty of simple steps you can take to ensure that your personal information doesn’t end up in the hands of the fraudsters

Vary your passwords

Don’t use the same password repeatedly. The average Brit apparently uses just five passwords across an average of 26 different accounts and websites. That’s pretty risky.

Don’t use simple passwords

The best passwords include upper and lower case letters as well as numbers.

For tips on setting the best passwords, read How to protect your PINs and passwords.

Don’t fall for phishing emails

Not a day goes by when I don’t get some form of phishing email in my inbox. The majority are obvious – the spelling is appalling, the sentence structure is baffling, and the attempt to get me to follow a link and hand over my details is pretty basic.

But they are getting far more sophisticated, as two members of the lovemoney.com team have experienced at first hand this week. Ed Bowsher received a phishing email purporting to be from his bank which came from an email address from which he had previously received genuine correspondence. Check out A scary new twist on phishing.

Meanwhile, Simon Ward received an email supposedly from PayPal about a child pornography transaction, in a bid to gain access to his bank and credit card details. Read Warning: PayPal child pornography scam email for more.

Just remember that your bank will never ask for any sensitive details online.

Monitor your bank account and credit cards on a regular basis

Check your balance every couple of days. That way you’ll spot any dodgy transactions quicker.

Get decent anti-virus protection

There’s all sorts of anti-virus programmes out there, some of which won’t cost you a penny. Check out our Kit out your PC for free guide for more.

Monitor your credit report

Your credit record lists all of your credit commitments and applications. You’ll soon spot if somebody is trying to take out a credit card in your name! You can get a free 30-day trial with Experian through lovemoney.com.

More on fraud

The five most common types of fraud

Current account fraud: record numbers of us lying to our banks

Fraud figures fall overall but phone and cheque scams increasing

Online fraud a growing concern across EU

The identity fraud capital of the UK

Enjoyed this? Show it some love

Twitter
General

Comments (2)

  • CuNNaXXa
    Love rating 362
    CuNNaXXa said

    Why bother protecting your identity. Remember that it is not YOU who is giving criminals the money, but the financial institution, which means it isn't you who is losing your identity, but the financial institution who is losing money.

    The simple fact is that every financial institution knows that criminals will pose as honest members of the public, so it is down to the institutions to double check every application, rather than hand out money willy nilly.

    So, lets hear less of this 'Identity Theft' and more of 'Impersonation'. Remember that 'Identity Theft' puts the onus on the person who is impersonated, whereas 'Impersonation' puts the onus on those taken in by the deception, which is the lender.

    Lets put a stop to financial institutions trying to pass the blame for their loss on to honest individuals who's only misfortune was to be impersonated by a criminal.

    Of course, if you unwittingly allow a criminal access to your personal information, such as a password to your bank account, then you only have yourself to blame if they transfer all your money to somewhere else.

    Report on 03 October 2012  |  Love thisLove  2 loves
  • daveharler
    Love rating 0
    daveharler said

    I quite regularly receive spam emails from virtually every bank under the sun telling me that my account is being jeopardized and to 'click here to confirm ownership' The laughable thing is most are from HSBC, whom of which I have NEVER held an account with. Every email I DO receive gets sent to the respective fraud email address of whichever bank it claims to have come from, then deleted.

    Report on 04 October 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

Post a comment

Sign in or register to post a reply.

Related content

Our top deals

Credit card
company 		Balance transfers rate and period Representative
APR 		Apply
now

Barclaycard 27Mth Platinum Visa

0% for 27 months (3.5% fee) Representative 18.9% APR (variable) Apply
Representative example: assumed borrowing of £1,200, representative 18.9% APR (variable). Purchase rate 18.9% PA (variable). BT fee is reduced from 3.9% to 3.5% (T&Cs apply).

Barclaycard 25Mth Platinum Visa

0% for 25 months (2.4% fee) Representative 18.9% APR (variable) Apply
Representative example: assumed borrowing of £1,200, representative 18.9% APR (variable). Purchase rate 18.9% PA (variable). BT fee is reduced from 3.5% to 2.4% (T&Cs apply)

Halifax BT 25 Month MasterCard

0% for 25 months (2.5% fee) Representative 18.9% APR (variable) Apply
Representative example: assumed borrowing of £1,200, representative 18.9% APR (variable). Purchase rate 19.0% PA (variable).
W3C  Thank you for using CGWEBLIV3