ID Theft: Victim Support

   National Consumer Councile (NCC) , 2006

   Identity theft is reckoned to be the UK's fastest growing crime. Celebrity ID theft regularly hits the headlines, as do high-profile internet scams — but ID theft can happen to anyone.

   In a landmark study — ID theft: victim support — the NCC puts a human face on the misery of ID theft, illustrating how victims get caught in a web of bureaucracy and how they are all too often made to feel like criminals.

The NCC also sets out its blueprint for action, giving recommendations to business and government, and advocating the formation of a national ID Theft Support Centre.

Distinction between ID theft and ID fraud

Throughout our report we refer to ID Theft — sometimes confused or used interchangeably with the term ID Fraud. The two are not strictly the same thing. The best summary and definition of the two can be found on the CIFAS website:

• Identity theft: (also known as impersonation fraud) is the misappropriation of the identity of another person (such as the name, date of birth, current address or previous addresses), without their knowledge or consent. These identity details are then used to obtain goods and services in that person's name.
  
• Identity fraud: is the use of a misappropriated identity in criminal activity, to obtain goods or services by deception. This usually involves the use of stolen or forged identity documents such as a passport or driving licence.

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