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Play your part in tackling cyber crime: Top tips from Experian

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

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November 3, 2014 | 4 min read

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Experian

How to play your part in tackling cybercrime

Identify theft is one of the biggest problems facing the online industry and it is incumbent on every online business to offer its customers help and guidance on how to protect themselves.

The problem was put into sharp relief this month with the launch of research from the Cabinet Office that found over half of Britons have fallen victim to cybercrimes such as identify theft.

The research was revealed as part of the Get Safe Online Week 2014, a government initiative to raise awareness of the dangers of cybercrime. This is desperately needed. According to CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, there have been more than 100,000 confirmed cases of identity fraud in the UK every year since 2009. In 2013 there were 108,000 cases.

What was especially startling in the Cabinet Office research was that, despite cybercrime being in the headlines on an almost weekly basis, less than a third of the victims had reported the crimes as they were unsure what they should have done or who they should have contacted.

Helping your customers help themselves

As an industry we have a role to play in addressing this issue.

All our businesses are dependent on consumers feeling confident and secure while living their online lives. So let’s find a way to provide the help and reassurance to let them do that.

Here are some simple tips you can offer your customers. Building your customers’ confidence in online commerce could be as simple as including our top ten tips in the customer service section of your website.

  1. If you think you could be a victim of identity theft or fraud, contact Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and internet crime reporting centre at www.actionfraud.police.uk.
  2. Then inform a credit reference agency, such as Experian, as they hold your credit report.
  3. You can also register for the CIFAS Protective Registration Service, which will put a warning on your report alerting lenders to the fraud and that they may need to carry out additional checks.
  4. You should also contact your lenders to explain what’s happened. Be prepared to provide proof of a stolen identity, such as statements showing you do not live at the address given for the fake accounts.
  5. Prevention is better than cure. Take precautions such as redirecting your mail when you move address, shredding sensitive documents and immediately reporting the theft of a credit or debit card.
  6. Get an individual and secure mailbox if you live in shared accommodation.
  7. Registering to vote at your current address can help lenders check your residential status and deter fraud against you.
  8. As far as online safety is concerned, don’t open or respond to emails when you aren’t sure who they’re from.
  9. Don’t enter your details on a website if you think something looks wrong. And be careful about what information you share on social networks.
  10. Never part with personal information to unknown voices on the phone.

Cybercrime is here to stay. Let’s all start playing our part in helping consumers learn to live with it as safely as they can.

Find out more information and advice at Credit Expert.

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