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There has been five fold increase in online identity fraud in just two years says a report (18 July 2012)

Date: 18/07/2012
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, There has been five fold increase in online identity fraud in just two years says a report

As number of Britons are increasingly signing into number of websites there has been dramatic rise in online identity fraud new figures have revealed.

The figures revealed that some 12 million pieces of personal information were sold by identity fraudsters in the first four months of 2012 alone.
That has surpassed the entire of 2010 when 9.5 million pieces were traded illegally marking a fivefold increase in just two years.
According to credit check firm Experian, 90% of the data illegally traded in the first four months of 2012 was password and login combinations.
This dramatic rush was being blamed on spiraling numbers of online accounts, with the average Briton now holding 26 accounts.
That number is even higher among 25 to 34-year-olds who have around 40.
The alarming rise in internet fraud has shown no signs of slowing down with almost one in five Briton signing up to six or more new site a month. That is seventeen per cent of the populace.
Even though there were large number of accounts, Britons on average had only just five different passwords to protect their details.
One in 25 has been using the same login details for all their profiles.
Peter Turner, managing director at Experian Consumer Services, said that the reason password and login combinations made up nine out of 10 illegally traded pieces of data was because they gave access to a huge amount of other valuable information, such as address books and related accounts.
Using a different password for each account could minimize risks, but if password information was stolen from a website, all accounts using the same details could become exposed and this information would spread among fraudsters rapidly.
Some two million people have fallen victim to identity fraud resulting in debts being run in their names and consequently finding it difficult to obtain loans or credit cards.

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