Identity theft: Should we be worried?21 February 2006
This week in the House of Commons the controversial ID cards bill was finally passed, following years of speculation and debate. If the revised bill is approved in the House of Lords, ID cards will be compulsory for UK residents applying for passports from 2008 onwards.
Amid criticism that the ID cards would infringe upon civil liberties and that the true cost of the scheme had not yet been revealed, prime minister Tony Blair defended the initiative, saying to the BBC that "with the real problems people have today with identity fraud, which is a major, major issue¿ it's just the sensible thing to do".
However, to what extent is there a "real problem" with the "major, major issue" of identity fraud? The government has been accused of exaggerating the issue of identity fraud to push the ID cards legislation. The Home Office claims that consumers lose £1.7 billion annually to identity theft, but Apacs, the UK's payments association argues that this figure is a gross overestimation.
Included in the £1.7 billion figure is £395 million from money laundering and £504 million from credit card fraud, but a spokeswoman for Apacs dismissed these claims. "The £504 million is the total losses for plastic cards. It is not just identity fraud on cards. Within that overall figure there will be some cards stolen in the post, some skimmed or cloned, some lost or stolen," she said.
As to why the Home Office had released these figures, the spokeswoman suggested: "I just think they think it is a good story to scare people with."
A credible threat
While the government has been accused of scaremongering during the ID cards debate, many consumers are not fully aware about identity theft on the internet. A common misconception is that people think their humble home computers are too insignificant to be targeted by hackers. But in fact, having control of another computer enables hackers to launch attacks on more sophisticated corporate and government systems without giving away their own location or identity.
Similarly, many people seem to forget that they may store very important documents on their computers such as bank statements or receipts. A document frequently targeted by identity thieves is a CV, which conveniently lists previous addresses and workplaces, all the details needed to apply for a credit card or loan.
Staying protected
Another widespread assumption is that anti-virus software makes computers immune to malicious attacks, something that is regrettably not true. Anti-virus software is often a PC's first line of defence, but it only prevents infection if constantly updated, and even then it offers no defence against determined hackers.
Along with anti-virus software, PC users should ensure they have firewalls implemented, which are a group of systems that protect access between networks. Firewalls allow people to monitor access policies for inbound connections, as well as what computers are allowed to access on the internet.
BT's Internet Security Pack provides round the clock protection from malicious attacks with constantly updated anti-virus software and firewall protection.
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