Wealthy and renters are targets for ID fraud

The financial loss caused by crooks acquiring loans, credit and store cards and catalogue goods, as well as social benefits and other financial payments, is usually borne by the companies that have been cheated. But people often discover that they have become victims of ID fraud in the course of an important transaction, such as buying a car or house, and suffer considerable inconvenience and distress – especially if the deal is delayed or falls through as a result.

More than 60 per cent of all fraudulent accounts identified during financial year 2005/6 were held at mail order companies but the biggest losers financially were store and credit card issuers, who had to pay for approximately 35 per cent of the total losses identified by Experian during the 12-month period.

Hire purchase (HP) and loan accounts registered the highest loss per fraud, at an average of £10,200 per HP account and £7,019 per loan account. Telecommunications and mail order companies faced far smaller losses per fraud, at £195 and £253 respectively.

Protect yourself

Some basic precautions that should become second nature – for example, shred personal documents before throwing them away, never give sensitive data such as PINs to cold callers or unsolicited e-mailers and redirect your post for at least a year when you move house. For more information, visit www.stop-idfraud.co.uk, a dedicated web site set up for National Identity Fraud Prevention Week.

The government also advises that you should monitor your credit report regularly. This is your personal history of the credit agreements – such as cards, loans and mortgages – that you have taken out, plus your repayment history and details of court judgements against you. It also includes your current address and whether you are registered to vote there.

Lenders check this when you apply to them – or someone else does, using your name and details. These applications are also recorded in your credit history, so you can see immediately if somebody has been impersonating you in an attempt to get goods or money. You will also notice if your address has mysteriously been changed.

“If you do become a victim, you can remove a lot of the hassle by contacting Experian’s Victims of Fraud team, who you can reach via CreditExpert,” adds Ms Stevens.

To see your credit report for free, you can take advantage of a 30-day trial of CreditExpert.