Noddle warns consumers to check their credit report as cyber-attacks present an increased risk of identity fraud

Noddle warns consumers to protect their financial passport and check their credit report as cyber-attacks and security breaches could compromise their personal data and potentially leave them vulnerable to identity fraud.

Cyber-attacks and security breaches provide potential fraudsters with key elements of information needed to impersonate an individual, warns Noddle the free for life credit report service provided by Callcredit.  In most cases a consumer could be unaware they have been a victim of identity theft until they were turned down for a credit card, loan or other forms of credit.

Over recent years as hackers become more sophisticated, attacks have increased and become more serious having negative effects on an individual’s credit report – their financial passport.  As a result Noddle recommends consumers to check their credit report regularly to help identify any fraudulent activity early and to put steps in place to protect their ID.

Jacqueline Dewey, Managing Director, Noddle said: “Fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the way they obtain personal information and as a result consumers need to protect their details as they would any other item of value they own, on and offline. It is surprising how much damage a fraudster can cause with just a name, address and a date a birth.  My advice would be to limit the information shared on social networking sites and activate any privacy setting available, change your passwords regularly, and try to avoid using family names and to shred any documents that contain your personal information.”

CIFAS has reported that in recent years identity fraud has risen and in 2013 it represented over 60 per cent of all fraud and over 125,000 individual victims of fraud were identified.  ID fraud can have serious ramifications for a victim and be time consuming to resolve.  If a consumer’s credit status is affected as a result of identity fraud the ability to obtain finance, insurance or even a mortgage may be affected.

Jacqueline concluded: “As the recent attack on eBay has proved, consumers need to be on their guard and put secure measures in place to protect their finances and personal information if they want to prevent fraudsters from gaining access to it.”