Fraud trends reveal what the average fraudster looks like

Posted in 'Identity Theft' by Richard Catlin

05 March 2010

CIFAS, the UK’s fraud prevention agency, has released a detailed analysis of fraud trends in the UK, helping to build up a picture of who is being targeted, as well as lifting the lid on the ‘average fraudster’.

There are 265 CIFAS members, including most of the UK’s biggest financial institutions. They share information about suspected fraud with each other, the police and fraud experts, and use it to try and better protect consumers from fraudsters and organised criminals.

Despite many millions of pounds worth of fraud being prevented by CIFAS, the unceasing efforts of criminals put the estimated total lost to all types of fraud at £30 billion, and almost all types of fraud are continuing to increase.

Identity fraud increased from 77,642 identified cases in 2008 to 102,327 in 2009 – a rise largely attributed to the recession and the way it has forced fraudsters to think. This includes criminals using false identities to open new credit accounts, as well as the theft of the identities of innocent parties.

Facility Takeover Fraud - where criminals take over control of an existing account to either empty it of funds, or use it as a tool in order to open further fraudulent accounts - is also on an upward trend. The 16% increase between 2008 and 2009 wasn’t as high as the preceding 12 month rise, but still saw the total number of successful frauds increase to 22,387.

When it comes to the type of accounts that fraud is committed against, there are some interesting trends. The mail order and mobile phone sectors saw the biggest year-on-year increase, with 120% and 57% increases respectively. Generally, it seems that fraudsters may be adapting their approach to try and target accounts that are easier to obtain, and which involve less stringent credit and identity checks.

Fraud on loans is down 53% in the same period. This is mainly due to tighter lending criteria bought about by lenders in the recession, which have resulted in more applications being declined at an early stage in the application process.

Mobile phone accounts saw a huge increase in facility takeover frauds. As handsets become more expensive and desirable, there is more incentive for criminals to attempt to intercept handset upgrades. With the increased take-up of online billing, it’s possible that victims would fail to notice that bills had stopped being sent to their postal address.

In contrast, mortgage fraud increased slightly for the first time since 2006, as the shoots of recovery in house prices encouraged fraudsters to try their luck there. Fraud on bank accounts saw a 10% increase from 2008 levels. In terms of location, London, the South East and North West experienced the highest levels of fraudulent activity in 2009.

There’s no definitive profile for a fraudster, but CIFAS has managed to shed some light on those identified as being involved. Most fraudsters are male, with an average age of around 39, although this increases to around 46 in cases of identity theft and Facility Takeover. Trends show that women are increasingly becoming targets for fraudsters, moving away from the traditional ‘middle aged male’ stereotype victim.

The overall picture for fraud isn’t a rosy one, but there are steps you can take to make sure that you don’t become part of the statistics. Our free Identity Theft Check Service allows you to check whether you are at risk of identity theft based on factors such as your lifestyle and payment habits, as well as giving you hints about how to stay safe. Regularly monitoring your credit report online will let you check that no accounts have been opened in your name, and that all your existing accounts are as they should be.

Check your credit report now