Identity Theft - Self Help

James

According to some, Identity theft is now the fastest growing crime in Britain. Your personal information is extremely valuable. It is good practise to shred your personal documents, but can you be sure others are doing the same?

To determine if you might be a victim of ID theft, current Home Office and industry advice is to look at your credit file in detail. If you find entries relating to organisations you do not normally deal with, contact them immediately. Other indicators are; being refused credit, an account emptied or a knock on the door from a debt collector.

One of the most despicable types of ID theft - Deceased Person Fraud Even after death, identities are stolen and the effects on the recently bereaved, traumatic.

Self Protection

Here's The Simple Way to Foil Identity Theft in life and death.

Neil Munroe, a director at Equifax, said, “It is certainly one answer and makes a lot of sense.” (The Sunday Post, 04 Dec 2005)

Here’s how:

Use the credit reference databases Notice of Correction facility as a means of conveying an instruction to ALL who access your credit files (lenders, card issuers, banks, insurance companies, etc). State that any financial product or service which requires your signature you will sign and Thumbprint . Failure to comply should result in these products or services being withheld.

The above procedure puts you in the driving seat. Anyone wishing to sign application forms in your name, no matter if they are using stolen or forged documentation to support their application will need to submit THEIR print.

What are the advantages of this system?

• It’s a proven deterrent over a period of years.

• It resolves disputed applications / transactions instantly.

• It helps ID crooks by providing forensic evidence which can lead to arrest.

• Let others contact you if fraud is suspected. If someone does use your personal details to say obtain a loan, then if they fail to provide a print, you’d like to think the lender would attempt to contact you. Therefore the system acts as an indication and warnings tool to the industry and hopefully the individual.

• Unlike other systems a Notice of Correction follows you and not your address Even if you change address, and forget to inform someone – you are protected.

• The system works with ALL organisations searching your file and is not limited to a membership list.

• In the event of ID theft occurring then you may be able to hold any lender to account if they’ve not followed your Notice of Correction instruction.

The Co-op is using customer’s prints to protect the Co-op, and the individual customer’s card from being used fraudulently in Co-op stores by using a biometric system.

Why not use your biometric to protect your personal details AND your cards?

I use the same ‘Thumbprint’ principle with my debit and credit cards for face-to-face transactions. I’ve signed the signature strip on my cards with my Thumbprint Signature. This is easier to check than a written signature, can not be forged, forgotten, lost or compromised. One of the main gripes of consumers and card issuers alike were shop staff weren’t checking signatures, there’s little need with a Print and we already know the system works. Therefore in addition to deterring application fraud, the system deters account takeover too. My plastic is certainly safer than carrying cash. The primary aim of plastic I believe.

It’s almost a no-brainer to adapt this method of ID theft prevention to cover several other types of card theft/fraud. Cards lost in the post would be rendered worthless, the theft of goods ordered by CNP methods greatly reduced. If the financial industries cards, cheque’s, passbooks could carry the same information (via a chip, magstrip or barcode) as a Notice of Correction – the genuine holder – signs and prints, then everyone would benefit.

Costs: Other than the cost of letters, envelops and stamps to the 3 Credit Reference Agencies, putting a Notice of Correction on your file is free and inkless pads can be obtained from the UK or the USA for as little as £5.



Consumer – credit reference agencies

Callcredit Plc
Consumer Services Team
PO Box 491
Leeds
LS3 1WZ

Equifax Plc
Credit File Advice Centre
PO Box 1140
Bradford
BD1 5US

Experian Ltd
Consumer Help service
PO Box 8000
Nottingham
NG80 7WF
Last edited by James : Today at 12:03 AM.

Experian_company_representative

It's certainly an interesting idea. On the downside, a notice of correction of any sort will mean that any credit application you make will be referred for manual underwriting, because a credit scoring system cannot read your text. As a result, using this system will prevent you from being accepted for instant credit, whether online, instore or over the phone.

mdean

What tosh

Identity theft is over hyped. I do not want to give biometrics to HMG for their ID card etc - I am certainly not going to give it to a profit driven outfit like Equifax.

You dont need to shred stuff - just rip out the confidential bits- and dont put your junk mail out for recycling until the day the bin people come round
easy

James

JamesJones wrote:

On the downside, a notice of correction of any sort will mean that any credit application you make will be referred for manual underwriting, because a credit scoring system cannot read your text. As a result, using this system will prevent you from being accepted for instant credit, whether online, instore or over the phone.

Your are absolutely right, but an awful lot of consumers put security before speed. The Notice of Correction facility was the only tool available for conveying this instruction to ALL. A slight delay is not a surmountable problem. If anything, in the longer term, it should result in speedier decisions being made with greater level of security for lender/bank and individual.

All I would ask is that anyone intending to use this system make a small voluntary donation to, Cancer Reasearch, ST Catherines Hospice, Scarborough or the charity of your choice.

stphnstevey

Do you take a inkpad around with you to 'sign' for things when paying with your credit card then?:rotfl:

James

stphnstevey wrote:

Do you take a inkpad around with you to 'sign' for things when paying with your credit card then?:rotfl:

Yes.

I now have the blessing of one of my credit card issuers.

They've put a note on my credit card file saying my thumbprint is on the signature strip of my card.

If your required to participate in a card security check over an open phone line i.e Name, Address, Mothers Maiden Name, etc etc - Then surely offering you print offers a higher level of personal security, without having to divulge the afore mentioned information, letting all in sundry know you are away from you home.

Here are a few articles which may interest you: (All current).

APACS encourages UK consumers to check credit reports.

It's a steal - ID theft (Radio 4 Inside Money - Listen to the broadcast).

1 in 10 Britons suffer ID Theft


APACS advice – reactive rather than proactive. Costly, at least £6 per year (I think USA citizens get one free report a year).

It’s a steal – Industry point the finger at ‘lax lenders’ and the system suggested to put things right, is only applicable to their members. Prevention is definitely better than cure.

1 in 10 Britons – By including plastic card fraud as ID theft, this figure is probably quite accurate.

mbailey

Biggest problem I see here is that all applications must be made on paper and no internet or telephone applications will be accepted. Yes you could say this is a good security feature, but to me this is not acceptable.

James

mbailey wrote:

Biggest problem I see here is that all applications must be made on paper and no internet or telephone applications will be accepted. Yes you could say this is a good security feature, but to me this is not acceptable.

Just for information. If you make an on-line, or phone application, the lender, or card issuer will forward you a signature application form thus enabling them to comply with your insturctions.

Depending on the uptake of this system, and it's in its early days, then I should imagine those subscribing to such a system could benefit from speedier application requests as it reduces the risk to the lender as well as the applicant.

Security overrides Speed.