15/10/2009 by bill.

This week is National Identity Fraud Prevention Week.

Two sets of independent research commissioned by Fellowes and the National Fraud Authority exclusively for National Identity Fraud Prevention Week (NIDFPW) show that one third of small and medium-sized businesses have been impacted by fraud - and that British consumers are experiencing a corresponding crisis in confidence, with only 3% feeling completely confident the organisations they deal with handle their personal data responsibly. The NIDFPW partners have therefore come together to publish a 28-page guide for businesses to launch a dedicated online resource centre, outlining the risks and offering tips on how to keep corporate data safe, and advice on how to overcome a breach should one occur. This invaluable resource is available free of charge from the campaign’s website, www.stop-idfraud.co.uk or by calling 00800 1810 1810.

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06/10/2008 by bill.

National Identity Fraud Prevention Week - a major awareness drive, warning of the dangers of identity fraud – begins today as fresh research is published showing that while awareness is at an all-time high, Britons are ignoring Government and police advice and continuing to put themselves at risk.

Government figures show that identity fraud costs the economy more than £1 billion annually – and independent pan-European market research, commissioned by Fellowes for National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, reveals that Britain suffers one of the region’s highest rates of identity fraud. The survey revealed that 4.3million adults have already fallen victim.

Thanks to ongoing public awareness drives, such as National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, the nation also boasts the highest awareness rates – 99% of adults surveyed claimed to be aware of identity fraud and 95% realise that we are all at risk.

However, 64% of British adults do not understand how best they can protect themselves against identity fraud, indicating that yet more needs to be done to communicate best practice in the home and work environment and encourage the public to take this advice – protecting themselves and lessening the impact of identity fraud upon the economy. National Identity Fraud Prevention Week aims to educate consumers and businesses as to the dangers of
identity fraud, and the preventative steps that could – and should – be taken:

Ensure that your PC is equipped with security software: 14% of Brits are still surfing unprotected.

Use the official Royal Mail redirection service when moving house and investigate stray post: only 43% currently look in to why expected mail has failed to arrive.

Always report lost documents, such as passports or driving licences, immediately: 67% of the population already adheres to this, but that leaves 33% of us naively risking our identities.

Regularly check your credit report! Only 23% of the population currently takes time to do this – the lowest rating in Europe!

Always check bank statements for discrepancies: while 79% of us are doing this, only 53% compare their bills to their receipts.

Make shredding part of your everyday life: despite repeated warnings, 65% of the British population admits to throwing sensitive documents in the bin without shredding them first.

More tips and advice can be found on www.stop-idfraud.co.uk. The site also features a new business section where you can find out about corporate identity fraud and get information for businesses on how to protect customer and employee data.

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If you think that you may have been the victim of identity theft it is important to check whether your credt report is affected by this. You can see your Experian credit report for free by signing up for a 30-day trial of CreditExpert.

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