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UK Identity Theft StatisticsThe UK identity theft statistics are staggering! Firstly, it is believed that this is the fastest growing crime on earth! In the UK, for example, it is believed that in 2006 there will be 68,000 victims. The cost to individuals, banks, credit card firms and insurers is estimated by the government at between £1.5 billion and £1.7 billion per year. This makes it a VERY lucrative business. Again in 2006, researchers examined dustbins in four London streets and found that an amazing 97% of residents regularly threw out materials that showed their full name, sex, title, address and postcode. If you extrapolate this across the UK as a whole, the percentage would add up to a staggering 21 million households. It is also believed that nearly half of us, 46%, throw away documents with our bank account number and sort code on it! This information is all a fraudster needs to steal our identities. They can use it to apply for things like credit cards, mobile phone contracts or bank accounts in our name. In other words, to a fraudster, most of us are like lambs ripe for the slaughter. It is believed that for most victims, it will take two years before the problems are sorted out in full. It is also thought that on average, a victim will spend around 200 hours writing letters, making telephone calls whilst trying to put their affairs back in order. Whilst the 'average' victim is hit for around £2,500, there are reports of some very unfortunate people whose finances suffer by over £50,000. It is not unheard of for people to find that a fraudster has bought a sports car with a loan financed by the unknowing victim! With UK identity theft statistics like these, become a victim is a very frightening prospect. Go back to
Identity theft statistics
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