COUNTERFEIT IDENTITY

Contents2.4.6.8.

10.12.

What is Counterfeit Identity

Facts & Figures

Types of Counterfeit Identity

Are you a victim?

How to protect yourself

My bad experience

Counterfeit Identity is when someone wrongfully obtains your pesonal informtion such as your name and bank details to commit serious crimes.

What is Counterfeit Identity

3 | Counterfeit Identity

Examples of Identity thefts is usually when your details are used to transaction money from your account and purchase products. This could

cause a big problem especially if your account has gone into an overdraft. It could take a long time to uncover the proof,

this makes it a very unpleasant experience and stressful for the victims. Identity theft runs through a very large circle, the victims money is used to fund other crimes such as human trafficking, terrorism, il legalimmigration and drugs.

“If you become a victim you could

also be framedfor something you

didn’t commit”

2 | Counterfeit Identity

Facts&Figures

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Literally hundreds of thousands of people have fallen victim to some unscrupulous person looking for an

easy way to get something for-nothing. Many cases are never reported because it might cause embarrassment to a family member (the thief) or it ’s resolved

privately. 16% say it was a friend, relative or co-worker who stole their identity.

Almost 50% of victims don’t even know their identity was stolen. In the first half of 2005 46 mill ion people have had their records stolen. You cant even imagine where the information has got to or what has been done with it. On average, it can take 539 days before you discover you have been a victim, by then it will be too late. And it can take up to 300 hours work just to clear your name! Residents in London are twice as likely to be successfully targeted by fraudtsers as those living elsewhere in the UK, this is because of the high population.

“The latest figure to verify is over 13,000,000 from 2001 - 2006 Jan

Dec of each year”

Types of CounterfeitIdentity

There are diverse types of Counterfeit Identity, most common are financial, criminal, cloning and commerical.

financial Counterfeit Identity is when a thief gets hold of you credit card details

to not only purchase things but sign up for a telephone and electricity account,lease a car and

even take out an apartment lease! Criminal Counterfeit Identity is criminals presenting themselves as another when clenched for another crime. Such as getting stopped for driving without a license and drinking establishments. Cloning is also a major crime within Counterfeit Identity. This is when criminals take data from personal information such as passports or Driving license to access things.Commercial, this is when business find themselves being entangled in fraud. A person could go into the companies database an access peoples personal information that is used for other crimes.

“bolder criminals take out debts in

your name”

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Are you a vicitim?

You should be concerned if you have lost your important documents, or they have been stolen. Such as your passport, driving license and credit cards.

If your expected letters from your bank have not been delivered you should ask yourself where they have ended up. Something might have appeared on

your statement that is unknown to you and is very unusual. Also you have received bills for things that you haven’t bought which

is a big sign ofCounterfeit Identity. Additionally if you get a fine or some sort of letter for breaking the law in which you haven’t or don’t know about. If any sort of personal information has been leaked to the public you should be worried as you never know who might come across that information and will they abuse it.

“Have you received letters from

solicitors or debt collectors for debts

that aren’t yours”

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How to protectyourself

The best way to protect yourself from Counterfeit Identity is to protect every single piece of personal information.

keep the security number safe as well as PIN’s.Make sure when putting your pin number in know one is able to see it. Keep an eye on your mail, if your information is on unwanted mail make sure you dispose of it properly this

means investing in a shredder. Also look through your statements regularly incase of any strange acts going on with

your account. Try to avoid using personal information via internet, this is one of the most common ways of being a victim, and if you are buying online make sure the website is trustworthy and safe. Some things you cant really prevent such as number plate cloning but you can minimize the risk by parking your car in the garage and keeping an eye on it when you can as well as parking in surveillance areas.

“Criminals sometimes use the identities of deceased persons to

commit fraud”

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Nasir Ahmed fell for an increasingly common type of ID fraud.It started in September 2004 when he received a call at home apparently from his bank.The caller told Nasir that someone was trying to carry out a fraudulent transaction on his account and that to stop it they needed to confirm his personal details.

Nasir confirmed all of his perosnal details in short, needed to perpetrate a sophisticated ID fraud. On opening his statement he found that more than £11,000 had been taken, mostly to

buy flight tickets and travellers cheques.It took them three months to sort this out and credit the

account. All that time I worried that they would say that they thought it was me who had spent the money, how would I find £11,000? “Where does a person go for help? The police said it was a matter between me and the credit card company.”Nasir was struck by the professional nature of the fraud.“The initial call was very plausible and they even changed my account details, including the password with the intention of carrying on with the fraud.

“I urge people not to disclose any

personal details over the phone”

My bad experience

COUNTERFEIT IDENTITY