Don’t face debt problems through identity fraud
Are we paving the way for debt? It is so easy for fraudsters to steal our identity but are we making their job far too easy for them?If you have been cutting back on your credit card debt and spending less or have decided to stop using those store cards which come loaded with heavy interest, you may want to check your monthly statements. This is because cards that have a lot of credit remaining, are like candy to a child when it comes to theft.
Don’t face debt problems through identity fraud
It is estimated that one in three people in the UK are holding on to credit cards that are never used anymore but unless these cards are cancelled or the account holder dies, the account remains active and is susceptible to fraud.
People are also carelessly throwing credit card statements into the bin without shredding them. They may as well hand their statements to a thief to do as he pleases as the information contained on such statements can make it easy for identity fraud to occur and push individuals into debt. It could take several weeks before people even realise that their accounts have been taken over by someone else.
Those who face debt problems through identity fraud could expect to spend at least 300 hours trying to resolve the situation and up to £8000 to clear their name.
Where accounts have been taken over immediately, there is less chance of early detection. Good debt advice to stop fraudsters stealing your identity is to shred all account statements and cancel any cards which are no longer in use.
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