8 ways to combat ID fraud

ID fraud is a fast-growing crime but there are ways of limiting the damage it does you; there are also positive steps you can take to avoid ID fraud.

Identity fraud is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the UK - the government estimates that it costs the country £1.3 billion a year. Identity theft takes place when a criminal gets hold of enough personal and financial details to impersonate you. Common methods include raiding your rubbish in search of discarded documents such as bank and credit card statements, stealing personal documents such as passports, or intercepting your post.

The sooner you act, the easier it is to limit the damage. These simple steps will help:

1. The moment you become suspicious, check your credit report. This is your personal credit history, which is collated and held by credit reference agencies. It shows all the loans, cards and other credit accounts in your name - so if you spot anything you did not apply for, you know immediately that someone is probably using your identity to commit a fraud.
2. If you find anything wrong with your report, tell the credit reference agency immediately. They have dedicated fraud teams to help you to investigate and put matters right.
3. Always report the loss of key documents - credit cards, cheque books, passport and so on - to the organisation that provided them and to the police. Get them cancelled and replaced.
4. Tell the police if you think your identity has been stolen and used fraudulently and get a crime number or incident number.
5. Contact any lender who has given credit in your name when you know you have not applied for it. Keep a record of all your conversations and correspondence.
6. If you think your mail is being interfered with, contact the Post Office straight away and ask them to investigate. If your post is delivered to a central point, such as the hall of a block of flats, make sure that you always collect it promptly.
7. Take every precaution to ensure that your identity is protected from further damage - for example, shred documents carrying your name and address before throwing them away and contact the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) to ensure that mail shots are not sent to your previous address.
8. Check your credit report regularly - that way you can quickly raise the alarm if someone is trying to use your name to get credit.

View your credit report for free with CreditExpert from Experian

21 February 2008 © Moneyextra.com

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