Last week was Get Safe Online week, and now it’s Identity Theft Prevention Week. The Home Office reckons this kind of crime costs the UK economy £1.7bn each year.
According to a report on the BBC, typical forms of identity theft are:
- Mail theft – thieves prey on flats where shared mail boxes make it easier for mail to be stolen
- Bribing delivery people – fraudsters pay delivery people to hand over items containing identity information
- Rubbish bins – thieves rummage through rubbish bags seeking discarded bills and bank statements
- Handbag theft – fraudsters target unattended bags as many people leave personal documents in them.
In addition, we would add online identity theft. Criminals steal identities online using viruses and spyware, or they buy in bulk from specialist online thieves who collate names and private information such as credit card numbers or bank account passwords.
The BBC’s tips (cribbed from Which?) are sensible:
- Do not use your mother’s maiden name or place of birth as a security password
- Check your credit record annually
- If you move, make sure you let your bank know
- Shred or rip-up post before throwing it in the bin
- Never use the same password for all your accounts
- Do not carry address details in your wallet
In addition, we recommend visiting Get Safe Online and putting machine gun nests and tracker dogs around your PC. In addition, we have advice for people who have been the victim of identity theft. This is useful regardless of how your identity may have been stolen.
