Report: 1.8 Million Britons Victims Of Identity Theft Every Year
London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – The National Fraud Authority reported Monday that more than 1.8 million Britons become victims of identity theft each year. Cost of the fraud is estimated at $4.05 billion (2.7 billion pounds).
The average amount lost by identity theft victims was $1,500 (1,000 pounds), the agency said. The total amount of money lost to identity thieves reached $2.85 billion (1.9 billion pounds), while the remaining $1.2 billion (800,000 pounds) was the cost to individuals and companies to prevent and detect the crime.
The NFA reckoned it could take up to 200 hours to solve problems caused by identity fraud.
The agency, which released the first ID Crime Strategic Threat Assessment, said aside from birth certificates, passports and driver’s licenses, criminals also seek other vital personal information from their targets through utility bills, online passwords, account numbers and personal data often placed on social networking sites.
To protect Britons from becoming victims of identity theft, the NFA recommended:
- Shredding documents bearing names, addresses and other financial details before throwing it away
- Regularly checking bank and credit card statements
- Informing the bank or credit card company about the non-delivery of an expected statement
- Securing copies of credit reports from a credit reference agency
- Keeping computers up-to-date with anti-virus software
- Limiting placing personal information on social networking sites.
Dr. Bernard Herdan, chief executive of the NFA, said in a statement, “Stolen and false identities are a significant enabler of crime and this issue demands a coordinated response across government and the private sector. The work we’ve undertaken has allowed us to gain a better understanding of the issue of identity crime. We are now working actively with our partners to improve the U.K.’s response to identity related crime and help reduce its devastating impact.”
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