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There were 153,100 cases of bank-account fraud in the first eight months of this year – and 47% of them were due to identity fraud. Bank-account fraud is up 1.5 per cent on the same period last year, according to figures from CIFAS , the UK’s fraud prevention service. And the breakdown for January to August shows that ID fraud is still criminals’ favoured method:
Identity Fraud: 72,204 cases. Includes cases of false identity and identity theft.
- Misuse of Facility: 36,327 cases. Where an account, policy or other facility is used fraudulently – such as paying in false or altered cheques.
- Application Fraud: 30,240 cases. This relates to applications with material falsehood (lies) or false supporting documentation – but where the name used is the fraudster’s own.
- Facility Takeover Fraud: 14,393 cases. This occurs where a person unlawfully obtains access to an existing account holder’s or policy holder’s details, and fraudulently operates the account or policy for his own (or someone else’s) benefit.
Remember that you can check your credit report for signs of ID fraud as a member of ProtectMyID.
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