How safe is our personal data?

Most of us know full well the degree to which our lives can be affected as a result of others getting their hands on our personal data. Financial fraud and identity theft have become commonplace these days, with fraudsters using increasingly sophisticated methods to try and get a hold of our details.

In fact, fraudsters can use all sorts of documents or items that belong to us in order to commit a crime or steal an identity. However, worryingly many of us fail to take precautions to minimise the chances of our personal data falling into the wrong hands.

Of course, there are some things that are out of our control, and in some cases fraudsters may get hold of our details through no fault of our own. Examples of this include data loss incidents by large companies such as the massive data loss blunder last year by HM Revenue and Customs where the details of 25 million people’s account numbers were lost. There were some people that were sceptical about whether this loss put people at risk, one of them being the television presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

After the massive data loss occurred Clarkson said that the widespread panic that followed was all nonsense, because nobody would actually be able to use the details to commit financial fraud or identity theft. In order to prove a point Clarkson actually printed his own bank account details in a tabloid newspaper, stating that nobody would be able to use the details. However, he was quickly proven wrong when a reader used the details to access Clarkson’s bank account and donate £500 to charity from the account.

Following the incident Clarkson said: ‘Back in November, the Government lost two computer discs containing half the population’s bank details. Everyone worked themselves into a right old lather about the mistake but I argued we should all calm down because the details in question are to be found on every cheque we hand out every day to every Tom, Dick and cash and carry. To hammer the point home I even printed my own bank account number and sort code. And guess what? I opened my bank statement this morning to find out that someone has set up a direct debit which automatically takes £500 from my account. The bank cannot find out who did this because of the Data Protection Act and they cannot stop it from happening again. I was wrong and I have been punished for my mistake.’

Despite experiences like this many of us are still failing to adequately protect ourselves against the risk of becoming victims of fraud and theft. One recent report suggested that British consumers are living in a false sense of security, and because of this are failing to take steps to protect their information.

The report found that many Brits fail to keep certain personal documents safe, and many would fail to notice immediately if this documentation went missing. This included passports, birth certificates, and driving licenses, all of which contain important personal information that could be used by fraudsters to commit criminal offenses or to apply for various lines of credit in the name of the victim.

One industry official stated: “Don’t leave personal information lying around the house. We have had cases of ID theft where friends, neighbours and even family have stolen personal documents and taken out big loans, mail order and credit cards.”

Officials have also expressed concern that some people are using the same PIN for all of their plastic cards, which increases the chances of fraud, as well as using very obvious passwords to protect their accounts.

An industry professional stated: “There’s a lot more people can do to prevent fraud occurring. Shredding documents and checking your bank statements are a good start, but people need to be wise to basic fraud risks such as using their mother’s maiden name as a password, or shopping on websites that aren’t secure.”

Another official added: “If someone wants to steal your identity it can be possible to discover your mother’s name before she got married. And using just one Pin number for several cards obviously exposes you if you have the details of any card stolen from you.”

There is now even concern that the new faster payment processing system that has been brought in by banks may increase the risk of fraud, because banks will have far less time to pick up on any unusual activity.

A professional from a data security firm said: ‘The Faster Payment system will be a challenge for banks which could lead to increased risk of fraud, as it will be harder for banks to detect and block fraud in the time window available. The existing process relies, in part, on banks having sufficient time to detect suspicious transactions.’ He added: ‘With more than 20million customers regularly using internet banking, increasing online safety is clearly a priority.’