Avoid Identity Fraud |
The National Fraud Authority has published its 2011 report which estimates that fraud is costing the UK over £38 billion a year. With a few of your personal details unscrupulous people can apply for benefits in your name, attempt to open bank accounts and get credit cards. The Home Office have said it had introduced a number of measures to target identity fraud, including better co-ordination in prosecuting fraudsters, more powers to share data about frauds, tougher criminal penalties and increased efforts to raise public awareness to the problem.
Identity fraud is now one of the fastest growing crimes in the UK.
It is not just the individual that can be targetted, businesses have a responsibility to ensure that the details they hold about staff and customers cannot be used for identity theft.
There are ways an individual and a business can make it harder for their information to be used for identity theft.
- Delete any suspicious emails requesting personal information as banks do not ask for personal details by email.
- Keep all important personal documents including you birth certificate, passport, driving licence, bank statements etc in a safe and secure place.
- Check bank and credit card statements regularly and if you find anything unusual contact you bank immediately.
- Install encryption, firewall and anti-malware software on your PC to help protect the sensitive information you have on it. This is vital for businesses, but don't forget your laptops and other data storage devices: are your laptop users taking confidential information out of the building on their hard-drives or memory sticks. Businesses shoudl also ensure that any waste IT equipment is handled in a way that wipes any data on the strorage media.
- Have you confidential documents shredded, as criminals can steal discarded information, receipts and bank statements from your rubbish.
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