Millions playing into ID fraudsters' hands

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Millions playing into ID fraudsters' hands

Thu 1st Feb 2007

Millions of people in the UK are putting themselves at unnecessary risk of falling foul of identity fraudsters due to not taking advice seriously, according to credit reference agency Callcredit.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issued figures this week that show Brits are still putting themselves in a vulnerable position, despite efforts to raise awareness by the government, including last October's National Identity Fraud Prevention Week.

A third of Britons have been found to throw away documents detailing their personal information without shredding, while a quarter make no attempt to regularly check their bank statements, the ICO study discovered.

Melanie Mitchley, director of industry relations at Callcredit, said: "People know what they have to do to protect themselves but they are just not doing it. Personal data is the lifeblood of identity thieves and they are gorging themselves on people's complacency."

As a result of its findings, Callcredit has released a five point plan aimed at increasing the level of security and scrutiny that UK consumers give to their personal details.

To protect against identity fraud, people should; be vigilant with personal details, always shred identifying documents, view credit reports routinely, redirect mail immediately should you move house and take measures to protect personal computers.

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