Could someone have stolen your identity?

They could even apply for passports or driving licences in your name, potentially doing even more damage to your finances and your credit rating. Find out more on how to avoid financial fraud.

You wouldn’t go around telling people your passwords, but you might be unwittingly sharing information online that could help scammers hack your accounts.

Identity fraud is now the most common type of fraud. Cifas reported that reports of fraud increased by 15% just in the first half of 2024.

To stay safe, don’t publish your date of birth, maiden name or other pieces of personal information online where anyone can see them. Criminals will use anything they can find out about you to scam you, or those close to you, using that personal information.

You should also have different passwords for all your online accounts to make it harder for scammers to break into more than one account. Consider using an online password manager, which is a tool that creates incredibly safe passwords, and then stores them for you.

Make sure you have up-to-date virus protection on your computer and avoid clicking on any suspicious links. It’s a good idea to make sure that you are turning your computer off and on properly, rather than just putting it into sleep mode by closing the lid. Your computer won’t perform critical updates without a proper reboot.

And it’s not just online where your data could be at risk.

You should shred any letters from banks or bills you receive. And if you move home, get Royal Mail to redirect your post for at least a year, giving you time to get the address changed.

Watch out too for phone calls in which you’re asked for personal information. Banks won’t ask you for your whole password or your PIN.

It’s quite common for your phone to have most of the information fraudsters need to access your accounts, including your banking apps.  

If your phone is snatched, then you could lose out on more than just the cost of a new one. 

You can protect yourself by: 

• making sure your phone is locked with a PIN or password, and don’t make it an obvious one 

• don't keep debit/credit cards, your driving licence or other IDs in your phone case 

• set up Find My for iOSOpens in a new window or Find My DeviceOpens in a new window for Android phones 

• be careful when using your phone in busy places or by the side of the road 

• find your phone’s IMEI number by typing *#06# into the phone app and pressing ‘call’, it should then appear on the screen. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. 

If someone’s stolen your phone, you should: 

• try and lock your phone remotely using Find My for iOSOpens in a new window or Find My DeviceOpens in a new window for Android 

• tell the police it’s been stolen, they might ask for your IMEI number which could be on the packaging from when you first bought your phone 

• keep an eye on your bank and credit card accounts, as well as your credit report and report any unusual activity.  

If you follow the above, you will hopefully be safe. But identity fraud could still happen – or may have already happened.

First, keep an eye on your bank and credit card statements to see if there is any spending you don’t recognise. You should also read any letters that come from banks in case they’re warning you of potential fraud.

To get a better sense of whether products are being taken out in your name, you should be checking your credit reports.

These are detailed listings of every form of credit in your name. So, if someone has got a credit card, loan or other product by pretending to be you, it should show up. You’ll also be able to see if any addresses are linked to you which you’ve never lived at.

There are three different credit reference agencies and there are ways you can check them all for free, or pay £2 to get a report direct.

If you find your identity has been stolen, you should immediately contact the credit provider to find out more. Hopefully you can do this before any money is taken.

If the money has been stolen from your own bank or credit card, you should be able to get most if not all of the money back. However, in all cases the bank will assess whether you’ve been negligent - but they need to prove this has been the case. If they find you were, then you might be liable for the losses.

After your bank has investigated the fraud, it will report the scam to the police. You can also contact Action Fraud for advice on what to do. 

Get the credit reference agencies to fix any entries which weren’t down to you.

You can also register your details with Cifas, who will put a flag by your name for any future credit applications. Though this will slow down future applications you make, it’ll also prevent fraudsters further damaging your credit rating.