| What is Identity Theft and Identity Fraud?
Identity theft: is when a person or company’s personal information is “stolen” by another person so as to assume their identity; the purpose of this is to use the information to illegally obtain credit, goods and/or other services fraudulently.
Identity fraud: is the actual act of using the stolen data illegally and can involve applying for credit or setting up a bank account in someone else’s name, fraudulently obtaining goods or services obtaining a false passport or anything else whereby the perpetrator receives something illegally at the expense of the unknowing victim.
How is my identity stolen?
There are various methods that are used to steal your identity ranging from the crude to the sophisticated:
• Bin raiding: everyday we throw away masses of information about ourselves - bank account and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, tax information, gas bills, electricity bills water rates, council tax, telephone bills, insurance documents, personal correspondence and much more. All of which are valuable to the fraudster and they will steal this personal data from your rubbish bin!
• Pick pocketing/Theft of wallet or purse: the majority of us carry our lives around with us in our wallets or purses. These can be treasure troves for identity thieves, full of bank cards, credit cards, driving licenses and other valuable identity documents that give the thieves everything they need. People usually realise very quickly that their wallet or purse has been stolen but often do not act quickly enough in reporting the fact to all the relevant parties
• Impersonation of the Dead: another gruesome method used by identity thieves is to monitor announcements regarding the death or funeral and then steal personal data about the dead individuals to commit identity fraud
• Card skimming: is the act of illegally copying your credit card details when you make a purchase. This can occur in shops, restaurants, bars, petrol stations in fact anywhere where you make a purchase with your credit card. Quite often this information is sold to professional criminal gangs who usually have enough information from the card so that they can use your card fraudulently without stealing your entire identity • Unsolicited Contact: one of the most blatant methods is either to make personal contact with the victim either by phone or face-to-face and ask for the information. The fraudster will usually say they are from your bank or a market research agency and will then start to ask you questions regarding your personal information • Online Identity theft: is a major area of identity theft. There are two main methods: Internet sites – individuals who use the internet are regularly asked for personal details in order to access websites or make purchases. In addition, more and more people are using personal networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Bebo. Fraudsters can gather this information from various sites and use it to commit fraudulent acts.
Phishing – is identity theft by email. You will receive emails purporting to be from various financial institutions, utilities or other organisations. The gist of the email usually relates to a security breach or system failure, which requires you to click on a link that takes you to a website that looks like the genuine site but has actually been especially developed by the fraudsters. To dupe you into entering personal information about yourself such as your bank account details or credit card details. This information is then used to withdraw information from your account or fraudulently use your credit card details.
Identity theft and fraud online are a major cause for concern so if you would like to know how secure you are online why not take the test from the Get Safe Online organisation. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa | 
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