A record 172,919 identity frauds were recorded in 2016 more than in any other previous year, according to Cifas, the UK’s leading fraud prevention service.

Identity fraud now represents over half of all fraud recorded by the UK’s not-for-profit fraud data sharing organisation (53.3% of all frauds recorded to Cifas), of which 88% was perpetrated online.

How fraudsters steal your identity

The vast majority of identity fraud happens when a fraudster pretends to be an innocent individual to buy a product or take out a loan in their name. Often victims do not even realise that they have been targeted until a bill arrives for something they did not buy or they experience problems with their credit rating.

To carry out this kind of fraud successfully, fraudsters need access to their victim’s personal information such as name, date of birth, address, their bank and who they hold accounts with. Fraudsters get hold of this in a variety of ways, from stealing mail through to hacking; obtaining data on the ‘dark web’; exploiting personal information on social media, or though ‘social engineering’ where innocent parties are persuaded to give up personal information to someone pretending to be from their bank, the police or a trusted retailer.

Who’s most likely to be a victim?

Growing numbers of young people have fallen victim in recent years and this upward trend continued in 2016 with almost 25,000 victims under 30. In particular Cifas recorded a 34% increase in under 21s. 2016 also saw increases in victims aged over 40, with 1,869 more victims recorded by Cifas members.