Information about Identity Theft and Fraud in General
There is increasing amounts of information available to show how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft, or to learn more about fraud prevention in general.
Criminals commit identity theft by stealing your personal information. This is often done by taking documents from your rubbish or by making contact with you and pretending to be from a legitimate organisation.
Identity theft can result in fraud affecting your personal financial circumstances. If your identity is stolen, you may have difficulty getting loans, credit cards or a mortgage until the matter is sorted out. You can check your credit rating by contacting any one of the three major credit rating agencies.
The Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee has a really useful web site with useful tips as well as many useful web addresses to help with:
- How to protect yourself
- Tips on how to keep personal information secure
- What if it happens to you?
- How to get your credit file
- Who can help
- Consumer finance identity theft information
Click here for the Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee web site.
The Nationwide Building Society also have a very comprehensive Security section on their web site – click here – with much useful information, including tips on PC and Internet security.