Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton urges constituents to get ‘identity fraud wise’ 

Linda Gilroy MP for Plymouth Sutton has urged constituents not to hand their identity over on a plate to fraudsters.  

The week aims to raise awareness of the dangers of identity fraud and inform the public and businesses on the steps they could and should be taking to protect themselves from identity fraud.

This awareness drive has been put in place by an expert group of public and private sector partners, and is being supported by Linda Gilroy, the Metropolitan and City of London police forces, The Identity and Passport Service, CIFAS - The UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, Fellowes, The Federation of Small Business, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Equifax, Experian, Call Credit, Royal Mail, APACS, the BBA, DVLA and HM Revenue and Customs. 

Independent bin raiding and Populus polling research commissioned for the week has revealed that 79% of households regularly place sensitive materials in their waste and recycling bins, despite the fact that 80% of Britain’s fear having their identity stolen. 

The Member of Parliament for Plymouth Suttton has welcomed the start of this year’s National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, commenting: “I firmly support the work of all the partners who have come together to raise awareness of the very real problem of identify fraud both in Plymouth and across the UK.  “I join with other MPs and National Identity Fraud Prevention Week in encouraging individuals and business to stop taking chances with their identity, and to start getting identity fraud wise. You wouldn’t leave your car or house unlocked, in the same way, we all have a responsibility to protect our personal details.” 

Linda Gilroy invites readers of her website to take part in the debate on identity cards, by using the 'Have Your Say' option (select from menu to the left of this page).

Steps the public can take to protect themselves include:  

• Keep your personal and confidential documents secure
• Always shred, using a cross cut shredder, before disposing of documentation – bank and credit card statements, utility bills, receipts, direct mail containing any personal information, mortgage applications etc
• Regularly check your bank and credit card accounts for unusual transactions
• Regularly obtain a copy of your credit report from credit reference agencies Callcredit, Equifax or Experian, and monitor it for discrepancies
• When you move home, redirect your mail from your old address to your new address for at least a year. You can now apply online 24/7, visit: www.royalmail.com/redirection for more information
• Going away? If you're planning to be away from home, you’ll want to make sure you don’t leave any obvious clues, like a pile of mail on your doormat, contact Royal Mail about their 'Keepsafe' service which will hold your mail for up to two months, and deliver it on your return. For more information visit www.royalmail.com
• Regularly check your bank and credit card accounts for unusual transactions
• Never give out any personal information to unidentified individuals or organisations who contact you by phone, email or face-to-face
• Visit www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/ for information on different types of fraud.
• Never respond to e-mails asking for personal or financial information. Be especially careful when sending personal information over the internet. 
• If you receive an email that warns, with little or no notice, that an account will be shut down unless you reconfirm billing or security information, you should not reply or click on the link in the email. Instead, contact the institution cited in the email using a telephone number or web site address you know to be genuine.
• Use up-to-date anti-virus software and a personal firewall and, if your computer uses the Microsoft Windows operating system, keep it updated from the Microsoft website. Be extra careful if using Internet cafes or any PC which is not your own and over which you have no control. If in doubt, a good place to get help and guidance on how to stay safe online is your bank's website. Check regularly for specific information and guidance on protecting your PC and yourself online.
• Avoid emailing personal and financial information. Before submitting financial information through a web site, look for the ‘lock’ icon on the browser's status bar. It signals that personal information is secure during transmission.
• Never give personal information to people calling from companies you have not dealt with before. Always check the identity of these people by calling them back.  Obtain their office number from directory enquiries and then confirm their position with the switchboard before speaking to them
• If you have been a victim of identity fraud involving the use of plastic cards, online banking or cheques, the matter should be reported direct to the financial institution concerned. They will then be responsible for further investigation and, where appropriate, onward reporting to the police. Other incidents should be reported to the relevant organisation and, dependent on their advice, to your local police station

Independent bin-raiding research was conducted by Waste Works. The research found that:

• 79% of households regularly place sensitive materials in their waste and recycling bins
• 11% throw away whole credit/debit card numbers – a combination of a complete card number with its associated expiry date and owner’s signature was found in the waste and recycling of 13% of households
• 37% of households – more than one in three of us – are still throwing away everything a fraudster needs to steal a person’s identity, including passports, driving licences, CVs, phone and utility bills

Documents featuring personal details are valuable to identity fraudsters who use the stolen identities to apply for credit cards, mobile phone contracts, and in some circumstances, higher level fraudulent activities e.g. opening bank accounts. These documents are also vital in helping offenders to ‘prove’ their stolen identity.

Populus polling commissioned for the campaign showed that three quarters of UK adults have now been personally affected, or have friends and family who have been affected, by identity fraud. Furthermore, 80% of Britons fear having their identity stolen.

Populus, commissioned by Fellowes, CallCredit, Experian and Equifax, interviewed a random sample of 1005 adults aged 18+ by telephone between September 21st and 23rd 2007.  Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to be representative of all adults.  Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.  For more details go to www.populuslimited.com.