Wednesday 27th December 2006
Credit reporting agency Equifax has called Christmas "open season" for fraudsters, following a study by Sainsburys Bank.
A survey conducted by Sainsburys Bank found that over four million Britons have now fallen victim to identity theft or other forms of identity fraud.
According to Equifax, the festive season is one time of year when consumers should be more vigilant about destroying credit card receipts and other forms of identification.
Neil Munroe, spokesperson for Equifax, said: "Its a fairly open season for fraudsters to be getting hold of information."
"People are obviously out and about concentrating on buying presents and enjoying themselves and keeping their data and documents secure tends to become a secondary thing," he added.
Mr Munroe noted that without additional vigilance, fraudsters could be having "as good a time as the rest of us".
Sainsburys Bank is providing identity insurance in the light of its findings, to protect against losses incurred following such cases of fraud.
The problem of identity theft has increased by 500 per cent since 1999, according to the banks study.
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