Welcome to idtheft.co.uk. On this page, you will find information relating to identity theft and identity fraud. If you want more detailed information on the various other types of online fraud to be wary of, apart from ID Theft, please visit my other website at www.scam-info-links.info
Identity theft (ID theft) is an ever increasing crime, it refers to fraud that involves one or more persons taking on the identity of another person in order to steal money or get other financial benefits. The term is actually a misnomer, because it's not actually possible to steal an identity, it's only possible to use it. The person who's identity is used can be put in the position of suffering the consequences when he or she is held responsible for the actions of the identity thief.
In many countries, there are specific laws in place that make it a crime to use another person's identity for personal gain. Identity theft differs from identity fraud, which is related to the usage of a "false identity" to commit fraud, identity theft means impersonating a real person.
Common Types Of ID Theft
According to the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center and other sources, identity theft can be sub-divided into five categories:
Business and commercial id theft (using another's business name to obtain credit)
Criminal id theft (posing as another person for the purpose of committing a crime)
Financial id theft (posing as another person to obtain goods and services)
Id cloning (using another persons information to assume their identity in daily life)
Medical id theft (posing as another person to obtain medical care or drugs using their identity)
The Commission Of ID Theft
ID theft may be used to commit crimes such as illegal immigration, terrorism, and espionage. ID theft may also be a means of blackmailing a person. There are also cases of ID cloning to attack payment systems, including online credit card processing and medical insurance.
Some individuals may impersonate others for non financial reasons, for instance, to receive praise or attention for the victim's achievements. This is sometimes referred to as identity theft in the media
Identity fraud (ID fraud) is unlawful identity change. It refers to the unlawful use of the identity of another person or of a non existant person as a tool in criminal activities.
Identity fraud can occur without identity theft, for example, where the fraudster has been given someone's identity information for other reasons but uses it to commit fraud, or when the person whose identity is being used is actively participating with the person committing the fraud. False identities are used by organized crime syndicates to access goods and services and money laundering, false identity is also a key tool of many of the varying types of financial fraud.
The Financial Costs Of ID Theft
The financial costs, it is difficult to accurately measure the impact and extent of fraud in the UK in general, because only detected fraud is recorded, many crimes are never reported, however, the available figures show that:
At the latest estimate, identity fraud cost the UK economy £1.2 billion in one year (Identity Fraud Steering Committee figures, 2008).
The Department for Work and Pensions estimated that £800m was lost to benefit fraud in 2006/7, and SOCA's 2008/09 Threat Assessment of Serious Organised Crime stated that identity fraud is a "major threat in this area."
Identity fraud accounts for a criminal cashflow of £10m per day.
In March 2008 there were 76.8 million National Insurance numbers in the UK, with a population of 61 million.
Plastic card fraud losses totalled £535.2 million in 2007 - with card identity theft accounting for £34.1 million of this figure.
There are proven links between identity fraud and organised crime. Identity fraud is not exclusive to one particular type of criminal activity and cuts across most criminal sectors, including illegal immigration, drug trafficking, money laundering, vehicle theft and fraud against the public and private sectors.
It is worth noting that, whereas statistics may distinguish between fraud against the public and the private sector, fraudsters do not discriminate between the two, they simply target the weakest link. The same stolen identity can be used in applications for loans and credit cards, and for multiple benefit claims, tax evasion etc.
For more information on internet fraud, visit my main site at www.scam-info-links.info. If you have been a victim of fraud, or think that you might be being scammed at this present time, please go the Scam Warners Forum, they will be happy to give you any help and advice you require.
