Battle raging on in war against identity fraudsters

Business Correspondent/Personal Finance Editor

Saturday 16 June 2012

IF you have had a credit card online purchase declined, and then received an automated phone call from your bank, as happened to me last week, you will probably have the hassle of re-ordering your item.

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SIMON BAIN

But it is all part of the crackdown on identity fraud which, according to the UK Cards Association, has helped drive down plastic card fraud to its lowest level since 2000. That optimism is not shared by national group CIFAS, encompassing 260 organisations in financial services, retail, telecommunications, customer service centres, call centres and public services, which says frauds boomed last year to their highest level ever and plastic card fraud rose 6%.

Identity abuse, where your bank account or card is used by someone else, accounted for 58% of last year's frauds, says CIFAS. "The abuse of identity details accounted for more than one in two of all frauds in 2011, meaning that data now has its own intrinsic value." It found rises of 34% in identity fraud in use of bank accounts, 58% in loan applications, and 58% in phone accounts as fraudsters cashed in on the value of smartphones.Among the techniques used to steal identity are bin raiding, mail diversion, scams such as fake charity fundraising and prize draw emails, mail interception, phishing, malware attacks on your computer – and the use of social networking sites. These may take the form of "forums and discussions leading to friend requests from persons not known to the intended victim", says the report. "This is usually done in order to capture information from a person's profile or solicit requests for financial assistance. Fake surveys on the street or fraudsters posing as charity collectors are real world equivalents."The Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit says: "Many scams involve customers being conned into handing over their cards and PINs, or their telephone banking security details by someone calling, pretending to be their bank or police – never hand over your card and PIN or bank security details in full."

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Battle raging on in war against identity fraudsters

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