New Cifas data reveals 173,000 cases recorded in 2016
Cifas, the UK’s fraud prevention service, has released new figures showing that identity fraud has hit the highest levels ever recorded.
A record high of 172,919 identity frauds were recorded in 2016 more than in any other previous year. Identity fraud now represents over half of all fraud recorded by the UK’s not-for-profit fraud data sharing organisation (53.3 percent of all frauds recorded to Cifas), of which 88 percent was perpetrated online.
The vast majority of identity fraud happens when a fraudster pretends to be an innocent individual to buy a product or take out a loan in their name.
Often victims do not even realise that they have been targeted until a bill arrives for something they did not buy or they experience problems with their credit rating. To carry out this kind of fraud successfully, fraudsters need access to their victim’s personal information such as name, date of birth, address, their bank and who they hold accounts with.