Tuesday 12th December 2006
Sainsburys Bank is urging its customers to compare credit cards receipts to ensure no personal details are visible when discarding them.
The warnings follow research by the bank which showed a 500 per cent increase in identity theft since 1999.
And credit card receipts were noted as one method by which identity thieves acquire personal information, with 12 per cent of people discarding an unshredded receipt in the past three months.
Donald MacLeod, credit card manager at Sainsburys Bank, said: "Research shows that around three quarters of household waste contains at least one item which could assist identity fraudsters."
"Unfortunately having your identity stolen is often just the start of what can become a long drawn-out process," he added.
Sainsburys Bank is offering PrivacyGuard, a fraud protection package which allows customers to monitor their credit rating and retrieve up to £10,000 in costs incurred due to identity theft.
Credit card customers of Sainsburys Bank can access their account online to check for unusual activity or unauthorised withdrawal of funds.
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