According to a report conducted by fraud prevention agency Cifas, the number of victims rose by 31% to 32,058 in the first three months of 2015, compared to the same period in 2014.
Identity theft occurs when criminals abuse the personal data or identity details of an innocent victim to impersonate them or to create a fake identity, in order to buy products or services.
Findings reveal that more than 80% of identity theft in the first three months of 2015 was attempted or perpetrated online. The group’s research showed that criminals mainly used people’s identities to set up new credit cards and bank accounts - these accounted for 41% and 27% of all identity theft cases respectively.
The average age for both male and female identity theft victims was 46 years old. However, Cifas warned that the 21-30 age group continue to be increasingly targeted - with the number of victims in that age bracket up 26% from 2014.
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