Beat identity fraud

lil eva · Beat identity fraud

We've all seen them: e-mails that look as if they come from your bank, your credit card company or your favourite social networking site. Most often, they claim to be updating their records, although the excuses can include a security upgrade or a systems crash.

And most often they're a con, designed by criminals to get us to click through to a clone of a genuine website and input all the information they need to impersonate us, take our money and run.

This is a form of identity fraud, one of the fastest-growing crimes of the 21st century, in which crooks get hold of enough of your personal data to empty your accounts and borrow money in your name, damaging your credit rating in the process.

Check your credit report now to ensure you haven't been a victim

Increasing risk
Apacs - the national body representing banks, building societies and card issuers - reports that it's booming. They received more than 10,000 reports of phishing attacks in the first three months of 2008, an astonishing increase of more than 200% over the 3,394 attacks reported in the same period during 2007.

"We've seen a significant spike in consumer concerns over phishing scams in the past few months," said David Cresswell of the Financial Ombudsman Service. "This suggests that large numbers of people are receiving phishing e-mails and not knowing what they are or whether they should respond to them."

So here's a quick guide that will help you to beat the phishermen and keep your ID and your money safe.

Don’t open any attachments – they could contain a computer program that will infiltrate your computer and relay your data to criminals.

Delete unsolicited e-mails asking for sensitive data such as passwords, Pins and account numbers – genuine organisations will not ask you for these.

If in doubt, call the organisation concerned at a number you find on the internet or in the phone book – don’t use the number given in the e-mail, as it’s likely to be part of the con.

Always access your online bank, building society or credit card company by typing the full url into your browser – don’t click a link embedded in an e-mail, as it could be taking you to a clone site.

Never give your login details, Pins, passwords, memorable words or other personal details such as your mother’s maiden name in full by e-mail.

Install the latest security and virus protection programs on your computer – Apacs research found that although 93% of people have anti-virus software in place, 29% of us haven’t got around to installing anti-spyware programs.

Check for the lock padlock or unbroken key symbols at the bottom right of your browser when you log on to what is supposedly a secure website for an organisation such as a bank. The start of the internet address will also change from "http" to "https" when you connect to a secure page.

Take care not to be overlooked if you are inputting sensitive data at an internet café, public computer or laptop in a public place – crooks can shoulder surf you.

Check your credit report regularly to be sure that nobody is trying to borrow money in your name. This is your history of credit cards, loans, mortgages and other credit accounts. It includes applications, so you can instantly see if anyone is trying to borrow money in your name.