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Within the United Kingdom, identity fraud has become one of
highest rating crimes to date. The UK government estimates
that each year identity fraud costs them 1.3 Billion.
Identity fraud has worked because many companies and people
in general have been convinced in some way to hand over
their items, documents or money. Identity fraud can remain
undetected for several months before anyone realizes what
has been done.

The UK has come up with an idea that is due in the year
2007. They intend to issue Identification cards that
contain information biometrically about the individual.
This information could come in the form of fingerprints or
an iris scan. Many individuals do not believe this will solve
the problem. No matter what the government does to protect
your identity, one thing will always remain the same. The
protection of your identity is largely your concern.

There are a few things that you can do in efforts to
prevent identity theft. This of course, is no guarantee,
but it is a worthy step in protecting yourself from thieves
and fraud.

When you are cleaning out your desk, do not simply throw
your personal items away. Items such as bank statements,
credit card statements, receipts and utility bills should
be destroyed. You could burn these items or obtain a
shredder. A shredder can do multiple things; it can destroy
your personal documents as well as compact discs or floppy
disks that could contain identifying information.
Additionally, some shredders will shred a credit card as
well.

Protect your credit cards just as you would your cash.
When you receive a new credit card, it should be signed by
you immediately. If you must destroy a credit card, you
should shred it by either using a shredder or cutting it
up thoroughly with scissors. If your credit card should
become stolen or lost, report it to the credit card
companies instantly, this will prevent the card from being
used. Another thing many individuals do not consider, is when
you are dining out, be watchful of letting your card out
of sight. One well-liked fraud is to simply take an imprint
or write down the numbers for use later.

Lastly, when you receive your credit card or bank
statements open and review them immediately. If you see
anything out of the ordinary upon the statements, you
should call the company right away and start a
investigation into it. Additionally, if you should ever
notice your statement has not arrived on time, you should
make a telephone call to the company to investigate this.
It is possible that is has been routed to an address other
than your own.