Avoiding personal and corporate identity fraud scams

Identify theft has become a huge problem and can cause enormous problems for businesses and individuals. Many fraudsters are attracted to this type of scam due to the lucrative returns it can bring. I believe it is estimated that an individual identity is worth £80,000 so you can guess how much a potential business can be worth to those trying to scam the business.

For those who don't know much about identity theft it involves obtain enough information about a person to be able to assume their identity. Once they have enough information they can use it to obtain credit, goods and services using the false identity. Identity theft can go on for years so it is very important for all to keep finances in shape and regularly check credit files to avoid being part of a scam.

Businesses they should have a robust security policy, limiting the number of individuals able to access and divulge personal and financial information. There should be an organisation wide policy of exactly what information can be divulged to third parties particularly via e-mail and other electronic communication. When using e-mail, staff should only open e-mails from trusted parties and report and suspicious e-mails to senior management and the authorities, and never include sensitive financial information when writing e-mails.

Identity fraud for businesses isn't as well documented as that of personal identity theft. However if you run a business then it is a real threat and something to take very seriously. If a fraudster gets enough information about a business then they can run scams such as applying for business credit or debit cards and shop to the max online. With it being corporate cards the credit will more than likely be far higher than that of personal credit.

The scams work by submitting forms to Companies House to change the address of the business, company director or secretary or appoint new directors for the business. Adding a director allows those involved in the fraud scheme to open new bank accounts and order goods with the debit card, ruining the credit rating of the business and leaving them with a financial nightmare.

To avoid being ripped off by this fraud scheme you should submit forms via Companies House electronic system. Companies House say they don't have the manpower to notify the original secretary or directors if papers have been lodged or check the information. Therefore you have to be very vigilant with your businesses financial information. The latest scam is for fraudsters to phone businesses posing as employees from Companies House asking them for password information. Companies House would never call businesses so you should never give out passwords over the phone.   It is worth signing your business up for the next marcus evans scam seminar to ensure your business is taking enough precautionary measure to deter fraud.