The Times of London reports today that "millions of Britons are failing to take action on the risk of ID (identity) theft", despite almost universal awareness of the problem. The report, in The Times’ Smart Money section, cites research for Capital One, the credit card company, which indicates that 16 million people take no preventative action at all against the crime, while 32.5 million store personal information insecurely in their home. The advice of Sanjiv Yajnik, of Capital One to "take steps to protect your personal information, redirecting your mail when you move house, keeping important documents in a safe place, and safeguarding your PIN and password details." is applicable to all consumers, including claimants and plaintiffs in the US and UK who are coming into settlement money. If you are receiving settlement check and using part of it to buy a new home and move, beware of the risks of identity theft and protect yourself accordingly.
Yajnik advises consumers to check their credit report for signs of fraudulent applications for credit.
Leave a Reply