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Identity Theft is a crime of the modern era and is rapidly growing. At Bradley James we take identity theft very seriously, if you feel you have been a victim of this crime please do not hesitate to contact our Investigation Department and have a one to one, confidential chat with one of our investigators who will talk you through the steps you should take next. The following will give you some insight into Identity Theft/Fraud and simple steps you can take to protect yourself. Protecting yourself Criminals commit identity theft by stealing your personal information. 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. Identity theft and fraud not only affects private individuals, but also government departments and private sector organisations, and often forms part of more serious criminal operations such as people trafficking and drug smuggling. The 2002 Cabinet Office Study, which covered the use of false identities and the theft of other people’s identities, estimated that crime facilitated by identity fraud cost the UK £1.3 billion per annum. By taking some precautions and following some sensible advice you can help protect yourself from fraud. Have a look at the fraud prevention advice we provide. Keep your personal information secure. Your identity and personal information are valuable assets. Keep them secure. Regularly obtain a copy of your personal credit file from one of the credit reference agencies to see which financial organisations have accessed your details.If you have recently moved house it is particularly advisable to check your personal credit file within 3 months of moving. Be extra careful if you live in a property where other people could have access to your mail. In some cases a bank or credit card company could arrange for you to collect valuable items such as new plastic cards or cheque books from a local branch. If you suspect your mail is being stolen, contact the Royal Mail Customer Enquiry Line: 08457 740 740. Check if a mail redirection order has been made in your name without your knowledge. If you move house tell your bank, card issuer and all other organisations you deal with immediately. Ask the Royal Mail to redirect any mail from your old address to your new one for at least a year. Consider using the Mail Preference Service to limit the amout of unwanted mail you receive. Keep all your plastic cards safe. If your plastic cards are lost or stolen, cancel them immediately. Keep a note of the emergency numbers you should call. Further details can be found at the Card Watch website. When giving your card details or personal information over the phone, internet or in a shop, make sure other people cannot hear or see your personal information. Never carry documents or plastic cards unnecessarily. When not in use keep them in a safe place. Keep your documents safe. Keep your personal documents in a safe place, preferably in a lockable drawer or cabinet at home. Consider storing valuable financial documents such as share certificates with your bank.If your passport or driving licence has been lost or stolen contact the issuing organisation immediately. Don’t throw away entire bills, receipts, credit-or debit card slips, bank statements or even unwanted post in your name. Destroy unwanted documents, preferably by using a shredder. Check statements as soon as they arrive. If any unfamiliar transactions are listed, contact the company concerned immediately. Keep your passwords and PINs safe. Never give your personal or account details to anyone who contacts you unexpectedly. Be suspicious even if they claim to be from your bank or the police. Ask for their phone number, check it is genuine and, if so, call them back. Be aware that a bank will never ask for your PIN or for a whole security number or password. Keep them secure. Things to look out for. You may become a victim of identy theft if; 1
You have lost or had stolen important documents such as your passport
or driving licence. You may already be a victim of identy theft if; 1
You identify entries on your personal credit file from organisations
you do not normally deal with. Your credit report. Obtain a copy of your credit file from the following credit reference agency, it costs as little as £2; Consumer credit check – info@bradley-james.co.uk Look at your credit file in detail. If you find entries relating to organisations you do not normally deal with, contact them immediately. Keep a record of all your actions, including who you spoke to and when, and copies of letters sent and received. The credit reference agecy may be able to help you with this. If you believe that you are a victim. Report the matter to your local police station and ask for a reference number. For details of which police station to report to, visit http://www.police.uk Contact
all your credit card companies and banks to report the fraud. Consider registering with the CIFAS Protective Registration Services. CIFAS Protective Registration may be placed by individuals against their own address when they have good reason to believe it may be used by fraudsters, for example, when a passport has been stolen. For a full explanation of the CIFAS Protection Registration Service, go to http://www.cifas.org.uk/ and follow the link to Protective Registration. Alternatively you can phone 0870 010 2091 (Mon-Fri 8am-9pm, Sat 9am-5pm) What is being done about identity theft in the UK? The Home Office, in collaboration with other government departments and private sector organisations, has set up the Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee to lead a cross public/private sector work programme to tackle identity theft and identity fraud. The programme co-ordinates existing activity in the public and private sectors and identifies new projects and initiatives to reduce identity crime. There have been a number of key successes: Aligning penalties – Many organisations use passports and driving licences to help establish identity. The maximum fine of £2,500 was no longer a credible penalty for fraudulently obtaining a driving licence given the level of fraud that it can be used to perpetrate. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 changed the law to align the penalty for fraudulently obtaining a driving licence with that for fraudulently obtaining a passport and made these offences arrestable. Obtaining either documents fraudulently now incurs a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment. New Criminal Offences – Organised criminals often use false identity documents. The Identity Cards Act 2006 created new criminal offences of being in possession or of controlling false identity documents, including genuine documents that have been improperly obtained or were issued to another person, without reasonable cause. These offences came into force on 7th June and cover both UK and foreign documents. Developing and sharing good practice – The Home Office, UK Passport Service, DVLA worked closely with APACS, FLA and CIFAS to support their project produce Identity Fraud – The UK Manual. This manual launched in June 2003, includes examples of known security features from UK passports and driving licences and provides guidance to organisations to help spot forgeries. Identity and Passport Service (IPS) initiatives – IPS has deployed a database of lost and stolen passports that is being shared with border authorities and police worldwide to help prevent identity fraud. Joint Working – IPS and DVLA continue to work closely together to establish higher standards of identity checking before they issue passports and driving licences. The
National Identity Scheme – The Government’s decision
to introduce a National Identity Scheme was announced in the Queen’s
Speech on 17th May 2005. Extra resources for fraud policing in the City of London. The
Home Office and the Corporation of London have each agreed to contribute
additional resources towards the cost of an expanded City of London
Police fraud squad and are both contributing just over £1.08m
in 2006/07.
Remember!! What you can do to protect yourself from fraud Here
again are a few simple precautions that you can take to ensure you
don’t become a victim of fraud:
Consumer
Finance Identity Theft Information. Information
about identity fraud and how to apply for protective registration
Bradley
James Group
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