A quarter of UK adults have had their identity stolen or know somebody who’s been a victim of ID fraud, according to a Which? survey
One of the fastest growing crimes in the UK, identity fraud, costs the country an estimated £1.3 billion a year.
As part of the investigation a Which? researcher managed to ‘steal’ editor Malcolm Coles’ identity with relative ease, it is claimed. He got hold of his birth certificate, his mother’s maiden name, place of birth, mortgage value, a plan of where his flat is on his street, medical data and details of his shopping habits – even how often he visited the gym. An attempt to access his credit card account using this information was only foiled by the fact that Malcolm hadn’t got round to telling his bank he’d moved.
Malcolm Coles says: ‘I couldn’t believe how easy it was for someone else to assume my identity. If this is what an amateur can do, imagine how easy it is for an experienced criminal.’
There are easy ways to avoid ID fraud, the magazine says. These include not using your mother’s maiden name or place of birth as security password, shredding or ripping up post before throwing it in the bin and never using the same password for more than one account; half the people Which? surveyed used the same password for all their accounts.
