‘Credit ratings damaged by identity theft’
June 15, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Identity theft is one of those anxiety-inducing events which many of us believe will never become a reality in our own lives. It’s a murky issue; most people are unaware of how it happens and only have a vague awareness about the tell-tale signs that may have occurred. However, the home insurer, LV=, recently revealed the worrying extent of this issue.
Approximately forty per cent of people surveyed by the company have previously been refused credit cards after being targeted by identity thieves. It is thought that half a million individuals in the UK have been treated in this manner after falling prey to identity fraud. On average, victims of this kind of fraud find themselves paying out over two thousand pounds in an attempt to clear their name through legal procedures.
The bad news is that LV= believes a further 440,000 individuals could be affected by identity theft over the next five years. The managing director of the company, John O’Roarke, stated that there has been a “massive increase in the number of people targeted by fraudsters”, a trend which illustrates the “importance of vigilance in protecting personal information and monitoring for any problems” that may indicate identity theft.
On the positive side, there are ways to guard against identity fraud. Personal documents or sensitive data of any kind should be shredded or thoroughly destroyed as soon as possible, PIN numbers should be kept secret, even from loved ones, and bank cards should be kept in a safe place. Furthermore, if you have even the slightest feeling that you may have fallen prey to identity thief, you should act as soon as possible. As with all such situations, it’s far better to be safe than sorry.
