One in five Aussies fall victim to ID theft
It has been revealed in a recent report that one in five Australian consumers has fallen victim to the growing crime of identity theft.
Identity theft has become a growing problem in Australia, as well as in other countries, and according to one recent report one in every five Australians has fallen victim to this sort of criminal activity. Officials have said that often the criminals that carry out this sort of crime are using very basic methods such as stealing mail to steal consumers’ identity.
In the past year alone more than one and a half million Australians have had their credit cards copied illegally according to the report, and well over one million bank accounts have been accessed illegally in the same period. The study was carried out by Galaxy Research and forms part of the Veda Advantage Identity Crimes Report.
Around seven percent of those responding to the survey, equating to around 1.2 million consumers, also admitted to having had their mail stolen, and officials linked to the research said that stealing mail was one of the most basic yet effective ways of stealing someone’s identity, reinforcing the importance of being careful with personal mail.
The official stated: “It’s one of the easier ways to gain through crime. It’s easier than going to rob a bank. If you’ve ever moved into a new house the amount of mail you receive is incredible. A lot of identity checks relate to having to bring in a bill or to bring in some paper work to shows your name and address and details. Your bank statements, your utility statements, are actually used to identify a person.”
Source - Brisbane Times