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ID fraudsters targeting Sussex
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| Andy Swales had £600 stolen after his card was cloned |
Fraudsters are stealing the identity of hundreds of people across Sussex.
Identity fraud is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country as offenders steal another person's ID and use it to gain money, credit or goods in that person's name.
Central Brighton has been highlighted as one of the county's ID theft hotspots.
Around 35 per cent of its population fall into a high risk category of those most likely to be a victim of the crime.
Other areas in Sussex highlighted in the survey by credit specialists Experian as ID theft hotspots are Horsham, Haywards Heath, Worthing and Chichester.
Police are warning that many people are making it easy for the offenders by throwing their credit card receipts, bank statements and bills in with their regular rubbish.
Another way offenders are getting hold of personal details is card cloning.
This is where dishonest staff in shops or restaurants swipe a card and details are downloaded onto a computer.
Offenders are also targeting cash machines, often putting fake frontages onto the machines to copy people's pin numbers.
Sussex Police is now warning people not to throw any personal documents into their rubbish and to shred anything they think could contain their personal details.
Detective Chief Inspector Trevor Bowles, of the major crime branch at Sussex Police, said: "There are a number of ways people can protect themselves against identity theft.
"I would strongly urge people to ensure that documents like credit card receipts, bank statements, bills and the like are shredded. Anything with personal information on it needs to be shredded."
Among the victims are Mike Taggart, 31, of Farm Road, Hove.
He was stung for £3,500 after his card was cloned a year ago in London.
The communications executive said the stolen money included a purchase for flight tickets to Rio.
He said: "It turned out that a cash machine I went to had a skimming device which copied my card. It also had a small camera which recorded my pin number.
"I have got to admit I was outraged at the gall of these people but slowly I got a sense of admiration at the ingenuity of the scam."
Andy Swales, 28, of Carden Hill, Brighton, lost almost £600 after his card was cloned at a petrol station.
To make matters worse he found out about his identity theft while he was on holiday in Australia.
It has only been in recent months that Mr Swales has had the money refunded.
He said: "It made me think about how I use my card in the future."
Another common form of ID fraud now is from computers.
New technology has seen new ways in obtaining people's sensitive information. Email phishing attacks are particularly easy to fall victim to especially when banks continue to email customers with a link to their website.
Peter Wood founded First Base Technologies in Shoreham in 1989 to help people set up secure computer networks.
That has evolved into ethical hacking where they attempt to break into companies' computer systems and test their security - much like the Hollywood film Sneakers, albeit without the FBI and all completely legal.
Mr Wood said: "An attack can be achieved by sending out emails pretending to from a bank or building society asking people to click a link to a website.
"They can be quite convincing, asking people to submit personal information which is then sent to the criminal. People do still fall for it otherwise they wouldn't do it. Some organisations still send out legitimate emails to their customers asking them to go to their website via the link.
"If people receive an email which is asking them to go to a website or anything commercial and they are not expecting it they should not go. Even if they think it is legit, they need to go manually rather than directly through the link. People should never ever go through a link in an email."
Mr Wood also warned that the unsecured network of Wi-Fi hotspots in cafes and pubs are prime areas for hackers to take a look into your computer without your knowledge.
Even your home Wi-Fi network is unsafe from hackers cruising along the streets in a van looking for unsecured networks.
Have you been a victim of identity fraud? Leave your comments below or call Richard Gurner on 01273 544531.
6:53am Monday 30th April 2007
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CommentPosted by: Socialist Republic of Brighton, Marx and Spencer on 11:14pm Mon 30 Apr 07
You may also be interested to know outside of Brighton 23 of the 25 places that suffer the greatest amount of identity fraud is in the south east. The other two towns are Slough and Reading. Why is this? Perhaps because the south east has a massive influx of immigrants, many of them hardworking and a benefit to the UK, but inevitably many of them illegal. A good number of illegals cannot find work and resort to crime, other illegals such as tamils in petrol stations with legitimate jobs are coerced into fraud to pay of the people smugglers who got them in. Ever been to Slough or Reading? Please pay either town a visit and take a good long look. But, hey ho, in the glorious Republic of Brighton the sun always shines on you as long as you're green and your liberal middle class conscience is salved by their ridiculous attempts to impeach heads of state.
You may also be interested to know outside of Brighton 23 of the 25 places that suffer the greatest amount of identity fraud is in the south east. The other two towns are Slough and Reading. Why is this? Perhaps because the south east has a massive influx of immigrants, many of them hardworking and a benefit to the UK, but inevitably many of them illegal. A good number of illegals cannot find work and resort to crime, other illegals such as tamils in petrol stations with legitimate jobs are coerced into fraud to pay of the people smugglers who got them in. Ever been to Slough or Reading? Please pay either town a visit and take a good long look. But, hey ho, in the glorious Republic of Brighton the sun always shines on you as long as you're green and your liberal middle class conscience is salved by their ridiculous attempts to impeach heads of state.
Posted by: johan jansen, Hove on 11:09am Tue 1 May 07
I used my credit card in two Brighton stores on the 25/04 and 27/04 . On the 28/04 two bogus internet transactions appeared on my credit card statement . I have since reported this to my credit card company who has now passed this to their fraud department to investigate . The local police were not very interested .
I used my credit card in two Brighton stores on the 25/04 and 27/04 . On the 28/04 two bogus internet transactions appeared on my credit card statement . I have since reported this to my credit card company who has now passed this to their fraud department to investigate . The local police were not very interested .
Posted by: Roger, London on 3:01pm Mon 7 May 07
We have only these two options to deter identity fraud.
1. To prevent fraudsters obtaining our personal details. Since fraudsters can obtain our details from various sources, it pointless to rely on this system.
2. We personalise our signatures with ID stickers as described on website www.theuniversalidsystem.com so that fraudsters will not get tempted to misuse our personal details they have. Unless we use this most effective way to deter identity fraud, this crime will just continue to grow.
It is strange why financial institutions and the government don't exploit ID KEY system which they know about since 1994.
We have only these two options to deter identity fraud.
1. To prevent fraudsters obtaining our personal details. Since fraudsters can obtain our details from various sources, it pointless to rely on this system.
2. We personalise our signatures with ID stickers as described on website www.theuniversalidsystem.com so that fraudsters will not get tempted to misuse our personal details they have. Unless we use this most effective way to deter identity fraud, this crime will just continue to grow.
It is strange why financial institutions and the government don't exploit ID KEY system which they know about since 1994.
Posted by: Bryan Mackie, Hove on 11:59am Mon 21 Jan 08
I am very suspicious about people offering apartments to rent on gumtree who should this be reported to /NAMES AND PRICES LOCATION AND PROPERTY TYPE DONT MATCH UP .[bold]bold[/bold] [quote]quote[/quote]
I am very suspicious about people offering apartments to rent on gumtree who should this be reported to /NAMES AND PRICES LOCATION AND PROPERTY TYPE DONT MATCH UP .
quote
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