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.

Save 20% on Fellowes Shredders at Amazon.co.uk

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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22/02/2008 by bill.

St Valentine’s Day sees the second anniversary of the switch from signing for our credit card payments to using chip and PIN cards – but has the new system prevented criminals from counterfeiting our details and using our hard-won credit?

The answer from APACS, the UK payments association, is yes – but that fraud is far from dead and we should not drop our guard.

Click here for the rest of this article with some simple precautions that will help to keep your cards – and your identity – safe, whether you’re at home, in another country or in cyberspace.

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17/12/2007 by bill.

A Post Office Survey indicates that fear on fraud is the major barrier to people over 50 using online services. Over 40% of those surveyed expressed worries about fraud.

If you are concerned about credit card fraud or identity theft there are simple precautions to take when shopping on line. Click here for more.

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29/11/2007 by bill.

Eat, drink and be merry, shop till you drop, deck the hall with boughs of holly, party all night – whatever Christmas means to you, it offers major opportunities for identity fraudsters to steal your ID.

Identity fraud takes place when a criminal manages to steal enough of your personal data – from your full name and address to bank or card statements, PINs and passwords and even information that could help them to guess your favourite passwords – to impersonate you. They can then do anything from running up debts in your name to applying for benefits or using your ID as a cover for organised crime, such as drug dealing.

It is one of Britain’s fastest-growing crimes – so keep your ID under wraps this year, with our simple guide to the festive season whilst…

…at the shops

• When you hit the High Street or the mall, make sure you keep your wallet or purse safe. Zip them away safely every time you use them – or pick-pockets could help themselves to a present of their own.

• Leave anything you don’t need at home in a safe place. Your driving licence or passport would be a gift to a fraudster but even a letter with so much as your name and address could help them to apply for credit in your name.

• Need to make an extra trip to the cash machine? Britain is the card fraud hotspot of Europe, so make sure that the machine hasn’t been tampered with, no spy cameras have been placed on it and nobody can shoulder-surf your PIN –Always cover your hand as you enter your PIN number.

…on the town

• Drinks, dinners and parties are all prime opportunities for thieves, so never leave your jacket or handbag unattended. Get a friend to mind it or dance round it if there’s no alternative. You may feel silly but that’s better than losing your belongings and your ID!

• Don’t put your credit card behind the bar and don’t let it out of sight when you’re paying. If a waiter vanishes with your credit card for a long time, he or she could be copying the account data and planning a spending spree at your expense.

• You’re vulnerable during the journeys to and from the spate of Christmas parties, especially if you’ve had a few drinks. Try to travel in company and remind each other not to leave anything behind in the bus, train, underground or taxi.

…at home

• You may be frantic to tidy your home before Mum, Dad and the family arrive but never throw away anything that could be used to steal your ID. A bank or credit card statement is a gift to a thief but almost anything, from a letter to a catalogue, can be enough for them to apply for credit in your name. Don’t think that shoving everything in with the left-overs in a smelly dustbin will deter criminals – there are specialist bin-raiders who prey on rubbish.

• Buy a shredder – and get into the habit of using it. As a rule of thumb, you should never throw out anything showing your full name, address, date of birth or anything that includes financial information.

• Contact the Post Office immediately if your usual Christmas cards – or any other mail – fail to arrive. Don’t put it down to the Christmas rush. According to Experian’s Victim’s of Fraud service, the most common way to steal identities in this country is to intercept your post. Even a piece of direct mail can be enough for a fraudster to take over your life.

…on the Internet

• In cyberspace, you can’t check out a shop-front or look at the goods, so always choose a reputable web site that gives contact details on the site. If in doubt, call or write to check them out. Remember, a bargain that seems too good to be true might well be too good to be true.

• Only use your credit or debit card at sites that offer secure payments – look for https in the url, where the s stands for secure, or a closed padlock symbol on the payment page. Another option is to sign up for the Visa and MasterCard services that allow you to register your card and personal details on a remote, secure server, so the online merchant never sees them.

· Minimise the information you post on social networking sites. Over the festive season, it may be tempting to post updates on these sites about parties and events you are planning to attend. Organised gangs are now focusing on ID fraud as a profit centre and they know that many people give away useful snippets that could be passwords giving them access to your bank and card accounts.

• Sign up for an online credit monitoring and identity fraud protection service, such as CreditExpert from Experian, which allows you to see your credit report as often as you like and alerts you by text or e-mail whenever there is a significant change that could indicate an attempted identity fraud. It is such an effective precaution against ID fraud that it’s recommended by the Home Office.

Your credit report lists all your credit, such as cards, loans, mortgages and even mobile phone and catalogue accounts, so you can see at a glance if someone has been applying for money or setting up new accounts in your name. That means you can stop problems before they develop into something serious.

Give yourself the gift of peace of mind this Christmas – see your free Experian credit report with a trial of CreditExpert.

See moneyjungle.net for more information about managing credit and debt.

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23/11/2007 by bill.

Millions of families have raced to change the passwords and PINs that protect their bank accounts in the wake of the loss of personal data on everyone receiving child benefit – but that isn’t enough to protect their identities from thieves.

Criminals could use the information, which includes names, addresses and dates of birth for parents and their children, to impersonate them, borrow money in their names and apply for benefits.

This is known as identity fraud and is one of Britain’s fastest-growing crimes, which the government estimates costs the UK £1.7 billion a year – and the key to protecting yourself from it is to monitor your credit report regularly.

Click here for more advice on protecting your ID

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20/11/2007 by bill.

Anyone in receipt of Child Benefit is right to be alarmed by the announcement that computer discs holding personal details of 25m people have been lost. The data included bank account details.

HM Revenue and Customs has set up a web page seeking to reassure anyone affected but, with cases of identity fraud on the increase, it is right to be concerned.

moneyjungle.net advises anyone who may be affected to watch out for unauthorised transactions on their bank statements.

Criminals sometimes take advantage of this sort of scare to try to get personal information. Be especially wary of any communications apparently from your bank or from HM Revenue and Customs.

Worried about the safety of your personal data? - click here

moneyjungle.net for up to date information on money matters

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