I always thought identity theft was something that happened to other people. Then it happened to me, a personal finance expert, someone who should have known better.
I discovered my identity had been stolen completely by accident. A random item was delivered to my house, I opened it and thought, interesting, I don’t remember ordering a solar security light system.
The paperwork was all my name and address. I assumed there had been a mistake made by the online retailer. Thankfully I called their customer services to report what I had received.
That was when I discovered several items had been ordered - £3,000 worth of goods had been bought using my name, address and date of birth. This debt was now in my name.
The perpetrator had requested most of the items be delivered to a local click and collect location and had accidentally asked for one item to be delivered to my actual home.
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If this hadn’t happened, I never would have known about the account set up, perhaps until I made a credit application or overdue repayment letters started to arrive at my house.
The online retailer quickly resolved this situation, froze the account, and removed any association or debt connected to me or my credit file.
What then followed was confusion, anger and vulnerability. All it took for an account to be set up was my name, address and date of birth.
All of these at the time were easily accessible on the internet and social media sites. I suddenly felt very vulnerable and unsure as to what to do next.
My details were out there now, and anything could be set up in my name. I felt scared, particularly with my address details out there.
I spent hours and hours on the phone and on the internet trying to protect my identity and delete information. My first call was to Action Fraud where I registered that I was a victim of fraud.
This then put protection over my identity ensuring extra checks were made for any accounts/services being set using my identity.
I also reported the crime to the police, who were extremely helpful and began an investigation into who had committed the crime. Mobile phones, IP addresses and CCTV were all checked to investigate the identity of the fraudster.
Could it be some I knew or was I just one on a list of hundreds of details obtained from the dark web. I went on to every social media site and removed location and date of birth details.
I even got a journalist friend to do an online investigation and share everything she found about me, including house plans from a previous time of selling my house.
I did a full online cleanse to remove as many personal details as possible from the internet that I could. I also spent a chunk of money on physical security at home.
I invested in a Ring doorbell system and added extra double locks to my windows and doors. I also have a service from Norton (Identity Advisor Plus) that alerts me to suspicious activity on social media and if my personal details appear on the dark web.
Finally, I did a full credit check with all three of the credit agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion to ensure there was nothing else suspicious on my credit file and set up free alerts with each agency for any future changes.
Fortunately for me this was the only identity fraud, and it was wiped from my credit file. But it left me feeling very vulnerable.
Steps to take to protect your identity online
- Ensure your passwords are fully secure, are all different, with variations of letter, numbers and symbols. You can store them in an online vault for ease of logging in and remembering.
- Lockdown your privacy settings with social media and do not share details such as date of birth, address and other personal information. Location settings should be switched off.
- Be mindful of pictures that go onto social media, is there any paperwork in the background or perhaps an emblem on a school uniform.
- Carry out an online cleanse, google yourself and check social channels, is there anything that feels too personal in that search. If so, delete it.
- Use online services to alert you if your details are being used online. I recently had an alert telling me that my LinkedIn details had been mass leaked onto the dark web. My password was immediately changed.
- Check your credit files regularly and set up alerts for any changes. This is great practise for your financial health anyway, but also for fraud checks.
Identity theft is sadly incredibly common and can indeed happen to anyone. Be aware and protect your online personal details using these top tips.
