Recently released figures from Cifas, the fraud prevention service, have revealed that in 2016 the number of identify frauds reached the highest levels every recorded.

In total, 172,919 identity frauds were recorded during the year. Identity fraud apparently now represents over half (53%) of all fraud recorded by Cifas, of which 88% was perpetrated online.

The vast majority of identity fraud happens when a fraudster pretends to be an innocent individual to buy a product or take out a loan in their name. Often victims do not even realise that they have been targeted until a bill arrives for something they did not buy or they experience problems with their credit rating.

To carry out this kind of fraud successfully, fraudsters need access to their victim’s personal information such as name, date of birth, address, their bank and who they hold accounts with.

Fraudsters get hold of this in a variety of ways, from stealing mail through to hacking; obtaining data on the ‘dark web’; exploiting personal information on social media, or though ‘social engineering’ where innocent parties are persuaded to give up personal information to someone pretending to be from their bank, the police or a trusted retailer.

According to Cifas, growing numbers of young people have become victims in recent years, and this upward trend continued in 2016 with almost 25,000 victims under 30. In particular, there was a 34% increase in under-21s. Cifas is therefore calling for better education around fraud and financial crime and urging young people to be vigilant about protecting their personal data.

There was also an increase in the number of victims aged over 40, with 1,869 more victims recorded by Cifas members.

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