Identity theft crime has soared again in Britain, this time by 27% in the first three months of 2015.
The UK’s fraud prevention service, Cifas, has warned that credit cards, bank accounts and other financial services are at risk if thieves steal someone’s name.
In the first quarter of the year there were 34,151 confirmed incidents. Of these, 14,103 involved credit cards and a further 9,349 concerned bank accounts.
The majority of cases, eight out of ten, were attempted online.
Identity thieves appropriate people’s names, addresses and other personal details to set up financial accounts which they then defraud, or target genuine accounts by pretending to be the account-holder.
The victims can incur financial loss and see their credit rating damaged if frauds committed in their name go unresolved.
Simon Dukes, head of Cifas, said the available data, despite its scale, was just the “tip of the iceberg” and that identify fraud is the most serious fraud threat.
Cifas calculated the average age for male and female identity fraud victims is 46. But younger people are also within the criminals’ gauge.
The data showed 3,970 people aged from 21 to 30e were targeted, up 26% on last year.
London police advised everyone to create strong passwords, have up-to-date security software and avoid sharing too much personal information online.
