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Figures show spike in identity fraud crimes

Published on 4 Aug 2009 under category: legal

There has been a rise in the number of identity fraud crimes recorded by members of CIFAS, a new study has suggested.

According to statistics from CIFAS, there was a 74 per cent jump in these types of fraud crimes in the first half of this year when compared with the same period of 2008.

Meanwhile, there were more than 52,000 victims of impersonation in the first half of 2009.

This represents a jump of 43 per cent compared to year-on-year figures.

Richard Hurley, communications manager for CIFAS, commented the focus on the methods of fraudsters "draws attention away from the number of fraud victims being recorded".

He added: "These figures surely underline the very real human cost of fraud in the recession."

Last month, figures released by KPMG showed that cases of serious fraud crimes reaching UK courts reached a 21-year high in the first half of this year.