Over 60 % of fraud is data driven identity crime
CIFAS – the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service warns that six out of every ten frauds recorded to the CIFAS database in 2013 were dependent on the abuse of identity details.
As previously revealed in this year’s Fraudscape report, the use of fictitious identities or the abuse of identity details to obtain a product or service in the name of an innocent victim (Identity Fraud) accounted for 49 percent – well over 100,000 – of all confirmed frauds recorded in the UK during 2013. While Identity Fraud has long been a serious issue, there have now been over 100,000 confirmed cases recorded every year since 2009. In addition, since 2008, the use by online crooks of data such as passwords and emails to hijack an existing account has also increased significantly – demonstrating that recent patterns of online financial crime can now be considered the ‘norm’ in terms of fraud.