Identity Fraud Continues To Rise

Identity fraud and theft continues to increase, despite greater consumer awareness of these crimes.

There has been a large increase in the number of reported case of identity fraud this year, up by 14% from 2009, according to CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service.

The number of victims of impersonation, in which a criminal assumes the identity of someone else to gain access to personal details or fraudulently buy goods and services, has also risen by 22% this year.

Recent media attention to identity theft has increased consumer awareness of these crimes and shown people how they can reduce the risks of becoming a victim, however the numbers of reported crimes continues to rise.

The CIFAS figures show that there are more than 275 instances of an innocent victim’s identity being abused every day.

With identity fraud becoming so prevalent, you can buy identity fraud protection insurance, to help, should your personal information find its way into criminal hands.

The recession may be to blame to some degree, as Peter Hurst, CIFAS Chief Executive, says:

“The past few years have seen the UK enter a period of recession and begin a slow climb out of it. Over this same period, there have been changes in the overall patterns of the fraudulent activity taking place: from a peak in the levels of application fraud (telling lies on applications for products or services), followed by a phenomenal surge in facility takeover (or account takeover) fraud and the re-emergence of identity fraud.”

“With the first real signs of economic recovery beginning to be reported, there is every reason to assume that fraudsters will be taking notice and redoubling their efforts to take advantage.”