Large rise in identity fraud found last year

Tuesday, March 2 2010

Consumers should protect themselves after it was announced that 2009 saw a large rise in identity fraud.

A 32 per cent rise cases of fraud meant that over 100,000 people were victims.

False insurance claims also rose by 55 per cent, making this the largest increase in fraud cases.

External affairs director of Equifax, personal finance consultants, Neil Munroe said it shows that the recession has affected criminals as well as the rest of the country.

"Fraudsters are adapting to the current economic climate," he explained, adding that is was not surprising to see the methods of the fraudsters change after the economic downturn.

People must be very careful about what they do with their personal information, such as bank details.

Mr Munroe added that victims go through a difficult process to get their money back and the organisation hopes that consumers will look to prevent the problem in the first place.

The report by the country's fraud prevention service, CIFAS, noted that identity fraud had increased year-on-year in every quarter of 2009.