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ID theft costs Australia $2b a year
Sydney
June 3, 2005 - 2:20PM
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Identity theft is costing Australians more than $2 billion a year as many consumers remain unaware of the risks of credit fraud, credit industry leaders claim.
And while the internet plays a key role in identity theft, thieves are still resorting to more conventional criminal methods to gain unlawful access to credit.
Credit bureau Baycorp Advantage's chief executive Andrew Want said identity related fraud costs Australians more than $2.2 billion a year.
"One of the most common forms of credit fraud is committed by 'stealing' the identity of another individual," Mr Want said.
"Someone obtains your identity details and uses them to obtain credit for themselves, leaving the victim with potential liability for this debt, a damaged reputation and the inconvenience of repairing your credit file."
In one instance, Sydney stock lender Arrbon Berisha said his financial life was turned upside down after his wallet was stolen about six years ago.
About a year later, he received phone calls from debt collectors asking him why he had defaulted on his bills.
Advertisement
Advertisement"Slowly I was getting phone calls from debt recovery agencies saying that 'you owe this'," Mr Berisha said.
Bills worth up to $50,000 on seven different accounts including phone bills and equipment hire charges were accumulated using Mr Berisha's personal details.
While Mr Berisha was eventually cleared of having to cover the charges, he said the work involved in restoring his credit record was exhausting.
Credit was also able to be accessed using Mr Berisha's details despite him cancelling all his cards immediately after the theft of his wallet.
He was able to obtain his credit record to see what payments had been made using his details.
Australian Banking Association (ABA) director of security Tony Burke said identity theft was tied to a broad spectrum of crimes.
"Identity crime is involved in one way or another in all terrorist acts and it's certainly involved in money laundering, where the intent is to disguise the origin of the fund," Mr Burke said.
"It's very frequently an element of more traditional fraud such as cheque fraud and credit card fraud."
The ABA said ways of avoiding identity theft included checking all credit records and statements, ensuring receipts that are disposed of are thoroughly destroyed and securing mailboxes.
Internet users should not click on an email link or attachment purportedly from a financial institution and only access internet banking through the bank's official web log-on page.
Credit information providers such as Baycorp and Dun and Bradstreet provide free copies of personal credit records to individuals upon request.
AAP
wow...
source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/Breaking/ID-theft-costs-Australia-2b-a-year/2005/06/03/1117568360968.html
Sydney
June 3, 2005 - 2:20PM
Page Tools
Email to a friend Printer format
Identity theft is costing Australians more than $2 billion a year as many consumers remain unaware of the risks of credit fraud, credit industry leaders claim.
And while the internet plays a key role in identity theft, thieves are still resorting to more conventional criminal methods to gain unlawful access to credit.
Credit bureau Baycorp Advantage's chief executive Andrew Want said identity related fraud costs Australians more than $2.2 billion a year.
"One of the most common forms of credit fraud is committed by 'stealing' the identity of another individual," Mr Want said.
"Someone obtains your identity details and uses them to obtain credit for themselves, leaving the victim with potential liability for this debt, a damaged reputation and the inconvenience of repairing your credit file."
In one instance, Sydney stock lender Arrbon Berisha said his financial life was turned upside down after his wallet was stolen about six years ago.
About a year later, he received phone calls from debt collectors asking him why he had defaulted on his bills.
Advertisement
Advertisement"Slowly I was getting phone calls from debt recovery agencies saying that 'you owe this'," Mr Berisha said.
Bills worth up to $50,000 on seven different accounts including phone bills and equipment hire charges were accumulated using Mr Berisha's personal details.
While Mr Berisha was eventually cleared of having to cover the charges, he said the work involved in restoring his credit record was exhausting.
Credit was also able to be accessed using Mr Berisha's details despite him cancelling all his cards immediately after the theft of his wallet.
He was able to obtain his credit record to see what payments had been made using his details.
Australian Banking Association (ABA) director of security Tony Burke said identity theft was tied to a broad spectrum of crimes.
"Identity crime is involved in one way or another in all terrorist acts and it's certainly involved in money laundering, where the intent is to disguise the origin of the fund," Mr Burke said.
"It's very frequently an element of more traditional fraud such as cheque fraud and credit card fraud."
The ABA said ways of avoiding identity theft included checking all credit records and statements, ensuring receipts that are disposed of are thoroughly destroyed and securing mailboxes.
Internet users should not click on an email link or attachment purportedly from a financial institution and only access internet banking through the bank's official web log-on page.
Credit information providers such as Baycorp and Dun and Bradstreet provide free copies of personal credit records to individuals upon request.
AAP
wow...
source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/Breaking/ID-theft-costs-Australia-2b-a-year/2005/06/03/1117568360968.html
