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

James

These unlikely suspects are the innocent victims of a menace that is now far from unusual - identity theft.

Story here.

According to this article, 1 in 5 have been victims of credit or debit card fraud.

If true the 1 in 4 figure seem feasible.

robp

A for me.

My house has been empty and for sale for the last two months, and during that time, someone has:-

>Opened an RBS Cashline account (Now informed)
>Been turned down for an A&L account (Now informed)
>Opened a Gregory Pennington Bank account (Informed)
>Had a BT line connected and a re-direction established (Informed)

I have just used checkmyfile.com to check my credit reports, which has only really shown two things of interest:-

>I am financially linked to the ex-wife (have now applied for a disassociation)
>They have not updated my current address according to the Electoral Register (have told them the new address)

The annoying thing about the Gregory Pennington one, is that they provide accounts for people in debt, and use RBS as the provisioning company! They also say "We do no credit checks!" as part of their marketing....great....

I'd love to get my hands on the :mad: who is doing this.....

xmen2

Hi there, i once had an argument with my bank, when having flicked through my newly delivered cheque book i found that i had one cheque stolen form the middle of my cheque book.

I visited my local branch to be greeted by a spotty teenager working for the bank who told me there's nothing to worry about.

I insisted that a new cheque book be printed and had my old cheque book cancelled.

HazelEyes_3

I've been the victim of B - my credit card details plus my name, address, e mail address and phone number were used to buy various items online for delivery to addresses in Eastern Europe. I was sent an email with a link to a Turkish chat forum which listed lots of similar details for people in the UK, US, Canada, Australia etc - very scary to see. Most of the transactions were refused by the merchants and those that did go through were reimbursed by the cc company. However the main priority of the cc company was getting another card to me asap and they were not at all interested in details of this site.

About 10 years ago I was a victim of C - a cheque was stolen from my cheque book and cashed for £1600. This took me way overdrawn and the signature was nothing like mine but then banks rarely check this anyway.

On both occasions I didn't lose out financially but it did cost me a lot of time (and if time - money....)

My SIL has been a victim of A - her identity was stolen via a catalogue sent to her old address in spite of the fact that she had cancelled her account with them prior to emigrating. This happened a few years ago and about 12 months ago I got a threatening letter from a debt collection agency trying to pursue me for the debt (we share a fairly unusual surname). I was so incensed that I went ballistic on the phone to them - in fact they hung up on me because they objected to me shouting at them. But I never heard from them again.

xmen2

:beer: Cheers for your reply hazel eyes. A very detailed and friendly response. Hope to hear from you again. xmen2

Bargainetta

I am a D in the poll. However, my small block of flats has been used as a dead letter box for obtaining credit. Kept getting loads of debt collecting phone calls from agencies. Tracked the guy down easily to the other side of our town - why didn't the agencies do it? - and then (perhaps unwisely) went and confronted the man on his doorstep with his neighbours as audience. He didn't deny it and the problem stopped. I really am quite protective of my credit rating. I will also not give out my d.o.b. willy nilly.

James

Take some proactive steps to protect yourself:

Click on links at the bottom of THIS PAGE for more info.

fififofum

D for me.

But my boyf. lost his card, and when he realised had it cancelled. By then someone had had a shopping spree on Tottenham court road in London (loads of electronics bought). This money was refunded to him. Month later though money started coming out on direct debits he hadnt set up for the insurance for the eletrconis etc. Again his bank First Direct paid him the £ back.

Also a friend had her switch card cloned. Again First Direct. They asked her where she was on the days the money was taken and she had to prove she was at work when all this money was being spent again in around London (lived in Kent at the time). They asked her if they could keep the card active to try and catch the people involved. She was given the money back. I dont think they caught the people.

We have recently had warnings from banks and customers who have had accounts emptied by ATM scams. I always either get cashback from Sainsburys or from HSBC's internal machine, ALWAYS cover the numbers and NEVER tell anyone your PIN. If in doubt dont use the machine its not worth the hassle.
ALso I shred ANYTHING with my name/address/account details from normal envelopes to Next directory statements, bank statements etc etc. Then when paper is shredded it goes in the worm composter!

James

Do not, repeat do not use a PIN with a credit card - tell your card issuer you want a Chip and Signature Card.

Why give crooks the opportunity to clone your credit card, pinch your PIN and hit ATMs.

Why be accountable for something (a PIN) when you don't need to be?

If the industry can't keep your PIN secure why should they expect you to be able to?

angelatgraceland

Yes, A. Someone posed as me to Barclaycard and changed my address and ordered a new card saying the original was lost or something. Luckily they didnt get far-security questions tripped them up and the card was blocked but they did manage to change my address before that!