Cifas: Identity theft at epidemic level

24. August 2017

According to BBC.com, the fraud prevention group Cifas warns that cases of identity theft increase year by year in the UK. In the first six months of the year Cifas already recorded 89,000 cases, which is a 5% increase in relation to the same period of the last year and a new record.

BBC.com further reports that Simon Dukes, chief executive of Cifas, said: “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.” It is further explained that “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.”

Fraudsters are targeting data such as the name, address, date of birth or bank account details. They gather these data by hacking computers, stealing mails or buying data through the “dark web”. Also, victims are tricked into giving away their personal data. However, most of the thefts, about 80%, are committed online and mostly without notice of the victims. The crimes often come to light, when for example the first random bill arrives.

The victims of impersonation were breaked down into categories of ages, showing that it is most likely that people in their 30s and 40s are victims of identity thefts, since about this group of people often a high amount of information was gathered online. It is further reported that according to Cifas, the amount of cases fell for the group of over-60s, while the group of 21 to 30 years old showed the biggest increase of cases.