ID thieves change strategy in face of financial crisis

The financial crisis is making it harder for everyone – including identity thieves.

They’ve been forced to focus on existing bank and credit card accounts – by using techniques such as phishing – as it’s now harder for them to steal money by setting up new ones with false names, MPs said today.

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Identity Fraud said tighter lending rules had deterred fraudsters from trying to use fake details to take out a loan or create a bank account.

"There is no longer a guarantee that they will get credit by applying assuming another person's identity, so they are instead tapping into accounts which already exist," their report said.

Fraudsters often try to steal personal details by sending random emails that purport to come from a genuine business asking for people to confirm account information.

Criminals then use the details stolen in so-called "phishing" attacks to steal money from people's accounts. Bogus emails are designed to look like they are from a bank, an online shop or a government department. One example claimed to be from HM Revenue & Customs offering a tax refund.

People earning more than £50,000 a year are more likely to be targeted, according to the report. Identity thieves are also behind a rise in "card cloning," where credit or debit card details are copied onto a bogus card.

The number of incidents of card cloning and phishing increased by 182 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, compared with the same period a year ago, the MPs said.

The government estimates that identity fraud costs Britain's economy £1.7 billion a year. That figures includes losses to insurers, card fraud, bogus benefit claims and unpaid fines, bills and taxes.

In their second annual report, the MPs warned that fraudsters will try to use the 2012 London Olympics to commit more crime. People buying tickets or merchandise online may be targeted, while shops should be on alert for card fraud.

A report yesterday suggested the UK may be the worst in the European Union for phishing attacks.

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