The latest figures from CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, have shown there were nearly 60,000 identity crime victims during the first five months of 2013.
46,000 were victims of impersonation whilst 13,500 were victims of takeovers.
CIFAS Communications Manager, Richard Hurley, said: “It is often said that fraud is victimless.
“With nearly 60,000 victims of impersonation or takeover fraud recorded between January and May 2013, this is shown to be blatantly untrue; not least because this figure represents well over half of all frauds recorded.
“What is perhaps most alarming, however, is the fact that these are the two types of fraud that most rely on criminals making use of the personal data about their victims — either to pass verification checks and impersonate them or bypass security steps and break into an account.
“This demonstrates conclusively just how valuable data can be to the modern fraudster.”
Are conveyancers taking the fraud risk seriously enough? Are you confident that your firm are taking all the steps they could be to address the issue?
