Member Article

ID Fraud Costs £1.7Billion

Identity fraud is costing the UK economy over £1.7bn a year, according to the Home Office.

The figure has grown by £0.4billion since 2002. Home Office Minister Andy Burnham said: “These findings confirm the sheer scale of the threat posed by identity fraud to individual citizens, private companies, and Government bodies alike.” The Government believes that identity fraud can be cut by introducing a national identity card linked to a National Identity Register.

In addition, biometric technology is being incorporated into passports. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 changed the law to align the penalty for fraudulently obtaining a driving licence with that for fraudulently obtaining a passport and made these offences arrestable. Obtaining either document fraudulently now incurs a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .