Identity Card advertising already tops £1 million

Posted in 'Identity Theft' by Richard Catlin

31 March 2010

It has been revealed that promoting the virtues of the new National Identity Card scheme has so far cost £1.3 million promoting the card to citizens in the North West, and people aged 18-24 in London.

The beleaguered scheme, which has suffered a series of false dawns and U-turns, is now being rolled out slowly in these selected areas of the UK, only to face a continued deluge of criticism from both privacy campaigners and experts. It is feared that because of the UK’s terrible track record on maintaining public databases accurately, and keeping personal data secure, the cards will become a target for identity thieves.

Even before the increased threat from identity theft was suggested, (other reasons have included to combat the risk of terrorism, despite the fact that major atrocities have occurred elsewhere where Identity Cards are in issue), the scheme has proved far from popular. The Conservative Party has already said that it will scrap the proposed scheme should it win the general election this year, and has even gone as far as advising consumers not to sign up for the £30 card.

Despite reassurances that the technology behind the Identity Card is secure, concerns remain.

Similar doubts have been cast about the supposedly secure new biometric passport – a view borne out by the use of six British citizens’ passports in a high profile assassination in Dubai earlier this year - identity theft at its most extreme.

A researcher, working alongside a journalist, claims to have hacked an Identity Card in 2009 and modified the identity of the cardholder, though the Home Office has been quick to refute this.

Whether you believe the Identity Card will increase or decease your chances of falling victim to identity theft, we recommend you use our free Identity Theft Check Service on checkmyfile.

We’ll show you which parts of your day-to-day life put you at most risk of having your identity compromised – everything from where you go on holiday to the websites you visit and the content of your wallet or purse. If we do identify any activities that might leave you vulnerable, we’ll flag them up.

Also, when we become aware of any ‘identity theft hotspots’ in the UK, we flag them up on our free Check Your Postcode service. This enables you to look uo your own, or any other UK postcode completely for free and you’ll also find a whole host of information about how the area is rated, the people who live there and even recent house sale prices.

See how to improve your privacy and guard against identity fraud