IDENTITY
FRAUD
Fraud
and the dead
Death
and Funerals - Steps to Prevent Fraud
Is
someone out there pretending to be you?
Is
Your Identity Safe?
How
to Protect Yourself
CIFAS
- who are they and what do they do?
Fraud
and the Dead
It may seem far fetched and the basis of a television thriller,
but according to the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, impersonation
of the dead is the UK’s fastest growing crime. And they’re
continuing their campaign to persuade consumers to take identity
fraud more seriously.
Deaths & Funerals
– Steps to Prevent Fraud
The UK’s Fraud Prevention Service – CIFAS – is
continuing its campaign, to persuade consumers to take Identity
Fraud more seriously. Impersonation of the dead is Britain’s
fastest growing identity theft crime. In 2003 16,000 families experienced
the pain of discovering their loved one had been impersonated after
their death, to open accounts such as credit cards and loans. The
rate of increase is 60% a year.
CIFAS has spent the last year urging the Government to release death
records to eliminate this crime but so far the Government has not
committed to do so. Over 20,000 families are expected to suffer
from this crime in 2004, so what practical steps can relatives and
executors take to protect the identities and reputations of the
recently deceased?
CIFAS advises funeral directors, relatives and executors
to:
|
Take
care not to include the age, date of birth or the address of
the deceased in any advertisements or announcements relating
to the death or the funeral. These pieces of information make
it much easier for identity fraudsters to successfully impersonate
dead people.
|
| |
|
|
Notify
Government Departments i.e. Department for Work & Pensions
and the Inland Revenue immediately and return any pension/allowance
books by registered/recorded delivery.
|
| |
|
|
Notify
companies as soon as possible of the death and if letters/statements
continue to be sent out, make a formal complaint to the organisation.
|
| |
|
|
Take
great care when sorting through the deceased person’s
belongings to ensure no documents that could be used by an identity
fraudster are left inside pockets of clothes being sent to charity
shops or being disposed of in other ways. Check handbags and
wallets too.
|
| |
|
|
Ensure any documents
such as bank statements, credit card receipts, council tax,
television licence or utility bills are not thrown away without
either shredding them, or tearing them up into tiny pieces.
Old letters and documents really do help identity fraudsters
who are known to go through rubbish bins looking for details
about potential victims. |
| |
|
|
Check with the Royal
Mail that there is no mail redirection on the deceased person’s
home that you know nothing about, particularly if it is now
an empty property. Organise a mail re-direction to your own
address – do not rely on collecting mail from the property,
especially if the property is empty or for sale. |
| |
|
|
Insist all viewings
of empty properties are accompanied. Following a death, identity
fraudsters have been known to organise viewings of empty properties
with estate agents specifically to steal or collect mail. |
| |
|
|
You can sign up
with the Mailing
Preference Service - or telephone 020 7291
3310 to stop direct mail, including offers of loans
and credit cards being sent to the deceased person – this
is a free service. The Direct Marketing Association estimates
22 million items of direct mail are sent to dead people each
year. Identity fraudsters use the details included in this mail
to impersonate the dead. |
| |
|
|
Report the matter
to the Police if your family becomes a victim and insist the
matter is allocated a crime reference number to ensure it is
recorded in the national crime statistics. |
| |
|
|
Write to your Member
of Parliament, if your family becomes a victim, to alert them
that this type of crime is a major problem and ask him/her why
deceased data is not being shared with the private sector to
help stamp it out. To contact your MP see Faxyourmp.com
- this is a free service. |
CIFAS Protective Registration Service
If you believe the identity of a deceased person may be used by
a fraudster, a CIFAS Protective Registration may be placed by a
relative or executor against the deceased person’s address.
The Service protects the identities of consumers registered with
it by flagging to over 240 CIFAS Member companies (virtually the
whole financial services industry) that they need to validate the
information provided thoroughly, and in some cases request further
proof of identification.
To request Protective Registration, telephone 0870 010 2091.
There is a small fee of £11.75 including VAT to cover costs.
A copy of the death certificate will also be required when the registration
is set-up.
Is
someone out there pretending to be you?
Taking out credit cards in your name, using your details to order
goods you’ll never use, taking out a mortgage on a house you
won’t live in!
We brought you the story of one Belfast woman who’d found out
to her cost that someone was using her identity. It was so bad her
credit rating had suffered. And even more alarming, there was nothing
she could do about it.
When we spoke to one of the credit reference agencies, they told
her how to keep a check on her credit rating, and make it more difficult
to someone to hijack her identity. But what happened to Susan is
apparently happening to thousands of others.
This form of fraud has travelled across the Atlantic from America,
and identity theft is now the fastest growing crime in the UK according
to Barry Conroy of Credit Reference Agency Equifax.
The statistics show a staggering
456% increase in the number of cases reported in 1999. CIFAS the
Credit Fraud Prevention Body, say " If this rate of increase
continues, this type of fraud will become the most serious with
significant losses".
Is Your Identity Safe?
Check with the credit reference
agencies - Equifax and Experian. They will charge a small fee £2
- £2.50 to send you your credit file. If there are any unexplained
entries, this could show that someone has tried to access your credit
rating.
Next, contact lenders to warn them. The onus is on the party that
has suffered a material loss, usually the bank or the credit card
company to push for prosecution. They will contact CIFAS too. Remember
you are not liable for debt incurred fraudulently in your name.
How to Protect Yourself
|
shred mail that contains any personal
details, even junk mail applications for loans etc. Don’t
just put it in the bin - rip into tiny pieces, or use a home
shredder. |
| |
|
|
always keep your cards in sight |
| |
|
|
never reveal personal details like your mother’s
maiden name and your date of birth to anyone you don’t
know. |
| |
|
|
check your bank and credit card statements
for suspicious entries. |
| |
|
|
ask for a password to be placed on your rating,
a password which only you know and without which an application
will automatically be refused. Note though that this will slow
down any legitimate applications that you yourself make. |
For further information:
CIFAS
Central House
14 Upper Woburn Place
London
WC1H 0NN
|
