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Identity theft warning to
web networkers
Rupert Jones
London Guardian
Saturday October 06, 2007
An advertising campaign to warn of the dangers
of disclosing too much personal information should be launched
on social networking websites, according to a report by MPs on
identity theft.
The all-party group also urged the government to appoint an identity
fraud tsar, and called for a review of the law and more resources
for the police.
Official figures show that identity theft costs the economy £1.7bn
a year, though the true figure could be much higher. Some victims
have had their bank accounts plundered while others have discovered
that credit cards have been taken out in their name and used to
make purchases abroad.
In its report, the group said young people were the least protective
of their personal information. More than 60% of 16- to 25-year-olds
do not destroy personal documents before throwing them away, and
one in six have published sensitive information on a blog or social
networking website or in a chatroom.
(Article continues below)
"Even mobile phone numbers are appearing on sites such as
Facebook," said the MPs. "An advertising campaign on
social networking sites including Facebook, Bebo and MySpace would
be an effective way of raising awareness among this group and
others."
The group was critical of government efforts, pointing out that
in the last two years there have been three ministers with responsibility
for ID theft. It said an identity fraud tsar would create a single
point of contact across government, police and the private sector.
MPs also criticised banking bodies for their reluctance to admit
that ID theft was a serious issue. "The banking industry
must accept that identity fraud is a growing problem."
However, the insurance group Axa had disclosed that it had been
the victim of a fraud when a subsidiary's registered office address
was changed. "This allowed a fraudster to rent property and
obtain goods, none of which were ever paid for," the company
said in its evidence to the group.
The report also called for:
·A review into how effective a single, specific offence
of identity fraud would be.
·More money for tackling the crime. Dedicated police officers
would allow forces to be more effective.
·All councils to offer safe and secure hard drive disposal
facilities as part of their recycling services.
·A hotline to allow people to quickly find out how they
should respond to an ID fraud attack.
·"Secure sharing" of data between government
and the private sector.
Nigel Evans, Conservative MP for the Ribble Valley and chair
of the all-party group, which was set up in 2006 to monitor developments
on identity fraud, said: "The group has been stunned by the
damage identity fraud is having. I don't think any of us truly
understood the scale and impact of the problem, and we are extremely
shocked by what we learned."
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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