What is Identity Theft?

Your identity and personal information are valuable. Criminals can find out your personal details and use them to open bank accounts and get credit cards, loans, state benefits and documents such as passports and driving licenses in your name.
 
The Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee has completed a one-off exercise to update the Cabinet Office estimate for the purpose of establishing trends in the cost of identity fraud over the past three years. The latest estimate is that identity fraud costs the UK economy £1.7 billion. As with a previous study, it represents a best estimate of the scale of the problem. Click here for a detailed breakdown of the new estimate.

How does a criminal get my personal information?

Criminals commit identity theft by stealing your personal information and then pretending to be you. This is often done by taking documents from your rubbish or by making contact with you and pretending to be from a legitimate organisation.

Identity theft can result in fraud affecting your personal financial circumstances, as well as costing government and financial services millions of pounds a year. If your identity is stolen, you may have difficulty getting loans, credit cards or a mortgage until the matter is sorted out which in some cases can be as long as 18 months.

What does a criminal do with my personal information?

Once a criminal has the information they need they could for example:

apply for a credit card in your name;
open a bank or building society account in your name;
apply for other financial services in your name;
run up debts (e.g. use your credit/debit card details to make purchase) or obtain a loan in your name;
apply for any benefits in your name (e.g. housing benefit, new tax credits, income support, job seeker’s allowance, child benefit);
apply for a driving licence in your name;
register a vehicle in your name;
apply for a passport in your name; or
apply for a mobile phone contract in your name.

If I’m a victim, am I responsible for any fraudulent credit card or bank transactions?

If you have been a victim of identity fraud and your card is still in your possession, you should not have to pay for anything bought on it without your permission (subject to the terms and conditions of your account). If your card has been lost or stolen, you will usually not have to pay, unless it can be shown that you have acted fraudulently or without reasonable care, for example by keeping your PIN number written down with your card. The same applies to any money lost through fraudulent bank transactions.

How can I tell if I’m a victim of identity theft?

You may become a victim of identity theft if:

you have lost or had stolen important documents such as your passport or driving licence; or
post expected from your bank has not arrived or you are receiving no post at all.

You may already be a victim of identity theft if:

items have appeared on your bank or credit card statements that you do not recognise;
you applied for a state benefit but are told that you are already claiming;
you receive bills, invoices or receipts addressed to you for goods or services you haven’t asked for;
you have been refused a financial service, such as a credit card or a loan, despite having a good credit history;
a mobile phone contract has been set up in your name without your knowledge; or
you have received letters from solicitors or debt collectors for debts that aren’t yours

Read More : Protecting yourself