Consumer watchdog urges police to take ID theft seriously

The National Consumer Council (NCC) has called for better training for police and businesses to ensure they take the ID theft crime seriously and provide suitable victim support.

The call comes as the watchdog published new research on July 12, revealing that ID theft is leaving “a trail of devastated victims who get little help to untangle the web of deceit and clear their names”. The report urges big businesses, utilities and mail order companies to set up a dedicated “one-stop” telephone and internet support centre for victims of identity theft.

Lord Whitty, chairman of the NCC, which campaigns on issues of public interest, said: “So far the UK government and companies have focused on raising consumer awareness of ID theft, but no one has paid much attention to supporting its victims.”

He said the NCC study had found that both companies and police gave a low priority to helping those who had had their identity stolen. Only three of the 46 companies surveyed had any form of support for victims.

The response of the police varied from “fairly good to absolutely appalling”. The study said one of the biggest problems is that the police consider that it is only the defrauded companies that are the victims of ID theft, not the individuals whose names have been stolen. This means police often refuse to give victims crime reference numbers which they frequently require to re-establish a good credit record.

Lord Whitty added: “So far, no-one has paid much attention to supporting its victims. In fact we were shocked by the low priority companies give to ID theft victim support and by the lack of recognition for ID theft victims in UK law.

“As a result, the police often refuse to give victims crime reference numbers – making it even harder for them to prove their identity.

“Business must dedicate more time and resources into putting things right for victims of ID theft – or face calls for stronger consumer protection laws.”

The report stated: “Despite improved legislation, the problems of enforcement and effective support to victims are unlikely to go away without government action. The Fraud Advisory Panel said ‘there is no secret about the overall police response to fraud: it’s under resourced, patchy and – some beacons of good practice notwithstanding – sometimes deeply inadequate’.”

According to the report, the NCC spoke to a police force that has teams dedicated to fraud. The force is quoted as saying: “The needs of individual victims may well be overlooked and there is a need for greater clarity on providing crime reference numbers.

“There are particular difficulties when there is no co-operation from the defrauded business and when different police forces need to work across boundaries – for example, if the victim, the criminal and the defrauded business are all in different parts of the country.”

NCC’s ID theft Support Centre would:

• Help victims prove their identity.
• Help victims get and understand their credit report.
• Take the necessary steps to prevent further fraud.
• Contact all the relevant service providers on victims’ behalf.
• Keep victims informed of progress and have an ongoing consumer education role.

Guidelines should include:

• A dedicated easy access victim support line in each company with a case worker for each victim.
• A standard referral and action advice system for victims when the company is the first port of call.
• Specialist training for case-workers to ensure the right advice is given.
• Clear information and regular updates and speedy resolution of each case.