Identity Theft Skyrockets In The UK As Thieves Use The Internet To Commit Fraud

May 28, 2015

identity-theft-ukThe United Kingdom has a serious problem on their hands with the reported rise of identity theft cases. Cifas, a fraud prevention service has reported that identify theft in the UK has grown by as much as 27% during the first quarter of 2015 when compared to the same period in 2014.

Cifas reported that a total of 34,151 identify theft incidents were officially recorded in the 1st quarter of 2015 and warns that these numbers are just a tip of the iceberg as many cases go unreported and many UK nationals are yet to discover that their identify has been compromised and taken over by a criminal.

The data also confirmed that thieves were using the internet as their main platform to commit identity theft as 8 out of the 10 incidents happened online. Thieves tended to first go after a users credit card online and their second choice was for online bank accounts. Criminals are also targeting the younger generation between 21 and 30 as they are more vulnerable to an online data breach.

In a statement, Simon Dukes, Cifas chief executive, said: “What these figures show is that identity fraud continues to be the most serious fraud threat and that the first quarter of the year has been a very profitable one for organised identity criminals. Fraud figures fluctuate over time, as fraudsters adapt and try new ways of achieving their aims”.

Authorities in the UK have decided to address the issue by conducting campaigns to education Brits on security tips on how they can be vigilant and protect their identify and financial details from being compromised online.