Recession may have fuelled big rise in ID fraud

There were almost 5,000 cases of identity theft and the take over of another person's account in the first nine months of the year across the region, in comparison with 3,432 cases in the same period in 2008 – an increase of nearly 45 per cent.

Some areas have experienced a much bigger increase than others. In BD postcode areas, which includes Bradford, Bingley, Skipton and surrounding areas, there were 720 cases in the first nine months of the year, compared with 332 in the same period in 2008 – a rise of 116.87 per cent.

The Wakefield area has seen a rise of 71.43 per cent, with 384 cases in 2009 and HG postcode areas in the Harrogate area have seen an increase of 72.22 per cent, with 186 cases in 2009.

Sandra Peaston, research manager, at CIFAS, the UK's fraud prevention service, which provided the figures, believes it was likely the recession was one of the reasons behind the huge increases.

She said: "Although we cannot categorically state that the increase is due to the recession, it is very likely that it is a significant contributory factor.

"It is generally accepted that fraud increases in a recession, but this is not to say that the rise is not being fuelled by other factors as well."

She said organised criminals may be using identity crime as other forms of fraud, such as mortgage fraud, may be harder to carry out in a recession and she said the downturn may be forcing normally law-abiding people into actions they would not usually take to try to make ends meet.

The figures obtained by the Yorkshire Post include account take over, where a person's account is hijacked, often by organised gangs to launder cash through their account, and impersonation, where the person responsible poses as somebody else.

We compared figures for postcode areas across the region for the first nine months of 2008 with the same period this year.

In the Sheffield postcode area there was a 47.58 per cent increase, in York a 20.95 per cent increase, in Leeds an increase of 29.38 per cent, in Doncaster it rose by 43.61 per cent, in Huddersfield figures were up by 13.78 per cent, in Hull they rose by 25.69 per cent and in Halifax, 25.74 per cent.

The increases are in line with national figures. In the first nine months of the year CIFAS says there were 72,822 cases of identity fraud in the first nine months of the year; an increase of 33.10 per cent on same period in 2008.

A recent YouGov survey found almost one in four Britons are being held back from doing any festive shopping online, owing to fears over online identity theft and fraud.

Europ Assistance, an identity theft assistance organisations, last night warned consumers of the increased risk of identity theft over the festive period.

Paul Everett, of Europ Assistance said: "At this time of year, consumers typically spend more frequently than usual and often large amounts of money so it is harder to become aware of unusual activity on bank accounts."

He urged people to shred documents that contained personal information; to ensure others are not looking over their shoulder when entering a pin number at an ATM or at the checkout and for people to monitor bank accounts to make sure they know what is going in and out of their account.

Some criminals have realised it is easier and potentially more profitable to move into identity fraud rather than traditional forms of theft, with many people slow to realise the extent to which they can be left exposed to crime by failing to guard their personal details properly.

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