Have 1 in 4 really been a victim of ID fraud?

teddyco

I know of someone who had their debit card "cloned" and used in another part of the world. They didn't have a clue how it was done, but the police who took their report relayed that story that I thought was interesting.

Here is a typical story that explains how criminals are doing it in New Zealand, and I am sure it may be happening in the UK:

Police in New Zealand are warning consumers and retailers to be extra vigilant to combat what has been described as the world's fastest-growing credit card fraud – card cloning.

The call comes after a Wainuiomata man admitted yesterday in Lower Hutt District Court that he secretly copied customers' credit card details while working as a forecourt attendant in a service station.

Christopher Anthony Chad, 23, pleaded guilty to nine charges of reproducing a document with intent to deceive while working at the BP station in Wainuiomata in November last year. Forty-one similar charges were withdrawn.

Chad swiped the cards, which had been handed to him to buy petrol, through a cigarette lighter-sized magnetic reader held under the counter away from customers' eyes.

He later passed the reader, containing the stored details, to an associate who used a laptop computer to transfer the details to dummy cards – which were fraudulently used to buy more than $16,000 worth of goods and services, police said.

Police advised people to keep a keen eye on their cards and conceal their hand when entering pin numbers to deter theft, and if they suspect foul play to report the incident to the local police for investigation immediately.

Police are warning customers of convenience stores to not let the attendant take their debit cards behind the counter or drop down out of sight where skimming equipment is usually concealed.

Smiley_Mum

My ID was stolen, first thing I knew was when I got a letter from a debt collection agency requesting payment of a debt within 7 days etc!!! A phonecall was enough to clear it up, thankfully. Nothing on my credit files when I checked. I sometimes watch The Real Hustle on BBC3 and it is a real eye opener how cunning/fly etc conmen/women are.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/tv/real_hustle.shtml

helenp33

My husband had C. We are still not 100% sure how it happened, but someone based in USA managed to spend about £5,000 in one hour on his credit card! Credit card company got suspicious and called him, ascertained that he wasn't in America and credited the money straight away. One of my friends had B, but thank goodness I don't know of anyone who has had to go through A

James

ID Theft - You may religiously shred your personal info and it's wise to do so.

But Security Wise:

Big Banks are Failing On-Line Clients.

Banks Are Dumping Account Details on The Street.

Gangs Turn To Bank Robberies That Rely on Insider Information.

Here's a breakdown of the official figures for ID Theft.

Eagle-eyed readers will note that Credit and Debit Card Fraud is included - at last.

Your personal information is valuable no matter what the statistics are;

Protect It.

Tustastic

D - I've not experienced Identity Fraud yet. I only know one person who has, and I do know quite a few people:)

debtworrier

I'd just like to point out that the shift to chip & Pin debit cards is not about security for us, the consumers.

Consider - with the old style card, a fraudster had to practice to imitate your signature, and the onus is on the shop to make sure it matches. So when a customer complains about a fraud, the shop/bank/whatever is already on the defensive about not being vigilant enough.

With C&P, if a fraud succeeds, it's now our fault for not protecting the number better! Once it all becomes 'the norm' my guess is that our Poor Impoverished Financial Institutions are going to start getting awkward about retail card fraud and refusing refunds.

D_Brundle

D

Never been a victim, probably because I am very, very, cautious and destroy old statements (shred and burn) or anything with my details. I'm also very suspicious about any phone calls etc that I get, I insist on ringing back before I'll ever contemplate giving details over the phone. However, I suspect that many of the statistics coming out of Government are deliberately exaggerating the problem to prop up the case for ID cards.

A number of people make some very basic mistakes with their ID. How many of you carry a driving license in your wallet? Well lose your wallet and not only do you give the thief your cards but your name, DOB and address. All very useful in carrying out ID fraud.

I see someone mentioned biometric ID as one solution, I would suggest you don't even go there. First of all biometric ID cannot achieve anywhere near the required level of accuracy. You have too many false negatives for one, that would cause a headache when applied at a national level. Also the rate of false positives would allow a significant number to slip through the net. Then you have the people trying to get round the system. It is actually very easy to fool a biometric ID, I was astounded to find out just how easy it is. With very simple techniques you can make artificial fingerprints, fool iris scans or even facial recognition systems. I'm sure the technology could be improved but the criminal countermeasure would probably be a lot cheaper and you'd end up in an arms race where the criminal would have the upper hand.

Unfortunately, it won't work for everyone, many epileptics can't use an iris scan, you're knackered if you lose an limb or an eye. Also once a criminal has your biometric info, you're kinda screwed since you can't change your biometrics.

The Government ID card scheme is a complete white elephant as far as ID fraud is concerned. Far from being an answer it will simply encourage ID fraud (see above), especially since the amount of information loaded on the card is a massive bonus to the criminal. OK so the data may be encrypted but how long does it take for the encryption in DRM software to be cracked?

My personal solution would be to suggest a public/private key encryption system. A public key could be kept on your ID card, confirmed by accessing the private key held in a Government database. If your ID becomes compromised, wipe the key and issue a new one. Anyone that attempts to use a compromised key could be instantly identified and arrested. And it wouldn't be an expensive system to implement.

hopefulfooluk

About 4 years ago I had my ID stolen but not really in the conventional way. I applied for a Capital One card online and heard nothing back so assumed that I'd been turned down. A few weeks later I went to Canada, and when I came back I opened a letter that said I was £4600 *over* 'my' limit. So I rang them and told them I didn't have a Capital One card - which as far as I was concerned, I didn't.

So it all blew over for a while and about two months later I got a very scary letter from them saying that they were going to do me for fraud. They had obtained the sales receipts from the places the card was used at and compared them to the credit agreement (which I had never seen). Of course the signatures matched because whoever intercepted the credit agreement when it was mailed to me then knew to watch out for the card and intercept that too. So as far as Capital One was concerned, it was me.

So then the police got involved and I had to give loads of statements along with copies of everything else that had my signature on it, and they got handwriting analysts in on it and everything, very scary - fortunately I had a stamped passport and boarding passes from my trip to canada which proved I was out of the country at the time the transactions occurred. So I was finally let off the hook but it was a very, very scary incident and stayed with me for over a year due to a big fat CIFAS notice getting slapped on my file.

I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone.

Graham1

One thing I have noticed is whenever I phone a credit card company, at the end of the call they often try to sell identity theft insurance. Often with a sales pitch implying that the customer is legally liable for debts not incurred by themself.

Whilst identity theft is a serious problem I suspect identity theft insurance is now quite a nice earner for credit card companies and insurance companies.

hopefulfooluk

Yeah it basically just pays for the insurance they already take out to cover their losses.

Like PPI - "pay your bank's insurance premiums"!