A new report from the UK fraud prevention service, Cifas shows that incidences of identity fraud rose by 27% in the first three months of 2015 with nearly 35,000 confirmed cases.
In fact, identity theft was so prevalent that it very nearly constituted half (47%) of all recorded cases of fraud.
The report also highlighted the fact that 80% of all identity fraud in the first quarter was attempted or perpetrated online and that credit card and bank account details were the most common targets for attackers to pursue.
As Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Clark, from the City of London Police explains “By following some simple procedures, such as creating strong passwords, protecting internet connected devices with up-to-date security software and not sharing too much personal information online, we can make life much more difficult for the identity fraudsters.”
How can you help keep your data safe from fraud?
Creating a strong password
Creating a strong and memorial password doesn’t need to be difficult. We’ve created an easy to follow infographic that explains exactly how it’s done in three simple steps.
AVG’s Michael McKinnon also has some great advice on simple mistakes you can easily avoid when creating a password.
Get up-to-date security software
Like Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Clark explained above, having up-to-date security software is important on all of your devices. Importantly, protecting your devices is neither expensive nor complicated. AVG has a number of free security solutions that can help protect your PC, Mac or Android device. AVG Zen also makes it incredibly easy to manage the security, performance and privacy of multiple devices all from one screen.
Don’t give up your personal information
While you should try not to “overshare” online anyway, taking the time to learn about “phishing” and how to avoid it can you detect scams and hoaxes online so that you don’t unknowingly hand over your valuable information to an attack.
AVG’s Tony Anscombe has some great advice to avoid phishing:
