Identity fraud in the UK continued to rise at record levels in the first half of 2017, according to Britain’s leading fraud prevention service.
Cifas recorded 89,000 cases of identity fraud in the six months to the end of June, a 5% rise from the same period last year.
Identity fraud accounted for more than half of all offences recorded by Cifas, which noted that the vast majority of this type of crime (83%) is carried out online.
Cifas data showed there was a sharp rise in criminals using other people’s identities to fraudulently apply for loans, buy insurance products and take out credit with online retailers.
While still accounting for more than half of all cases of identity fraud, attempts to fraudulently open bank accounts and take out plastic credit cards declined over the first six months of the year.
Fraudulent applications for insurance products rocketed by 10,250%, Cifas found.
Consumers in their 30s were most likely to fall victim to identity fraud in the first six months of 2017, but there was a 49.6% increase in cases involving the impersonation of people aged 21 and under compared to the year-ago period.
“We have seen identity fraud attempts increase year on year, now reaching epidemic levels, with identities being stolen at a rate of almost 500 a day,” commented Simon Dukes, Cifas CEO.
“These frauds are taking place almost exclusively online. The vast amounts of personal data that is available either online or through data breaches is only making it easier for the fraudster.
“Criminals are relentlessly targeting consumers and businesses and we must all be alert to the threat and do more to protect personal information.
“For smaller and medium-sized businesses in particular, they must focus on educating staff on good cyber security behaviours and raise awareness of the social engineering techniques employed by fraudsters. Relying solely on new fraud prevention technology is not enough.”
Advising consumers how to avoid becoming a victim of identity fraud, Cifas said people can protect themselves by ensuring their privacy settings are high across their social media channels.
Members of the public should also password protect all of their devices, install the latest anti-virus software on any product that connects to the internet, and take care when using public Wi-Fi or downloading files from unfamiliar sources.
In the offline world, consumers should always be sure to redirect mail when they move, and have their post delivered to a secure mailbox.
While credit reference agencies do work with consumers to make sure fraudulent accounts are taken off their profiles, the process of doing so can take time, during which victims’ ability to borrow may be affected.
