Britons do little to combat ID theft

Britons may be worried about the risk of ID theft, but they are doing little to protect themselves from it, according to a survey for CapitalOne
.

The survey, carried out by YouGov found that, while there has been a 313 per cent rise in serious fraud cases between March 2006 and March 2007, some 42 million adults do not know how to find out if they have been victims of ID theft.

UK adults were almost universally shown to be aware of the risks and of the dangers and 41 per cent were actually concerned that they might become targets.

However, only one in ten know what steps to take if they suspect they have been targeted and 16 million do not take precautions to protect themselves.

The study found 2.5 million people throw sensitive documents away intact, 14 million do not shred confidential personal documents and 32.5 million store their personal information insecurely in their home.

When fraudsters obtain someone’s personal details they can apply for credit cards, loans and other financial products in their name, with the average victim defrauded of £6,000.