Identity Theft Check

As discussed in previous articles, it is very important that you protect any PII that may allow criminals to defraud you or an institution in your name. As such, always report any lost or stolen passports, driving licences, credit cards, debit cards, cheque-books, or anything else as soon as you become aware that they are missing.

The sooner you report them missing the less likely it is that a criminal will be able to use them undetected.

If you suspect that your mail is being stolen, or if you have started receiving mail that is not your own through a fraudulent mail redirection service, notify the Royal Mail immediately. They have their own internal investigations unit who are very capable and able to help.

If you are definitely a victim of identity fraud but still posses your credit card (as an example), you should not have to pay anything back for things bought without your explicit consent by third parties – although there are often terms and conditions that you should be familiar with from the financial institution in question. Be sure to check their blurb thoroughly.

If you have actually lost your credit or debit cards, or if they have been stolen, you usually will not have to pay for anything unless you are the fraudster yourself (which we are assuming you won’t be!) or unless you can be shown to have acted negligently yourself, like by keeping your PIN attached to your cash-card or somesuch – never a good idea…!