One in eight affected by identity theft

• For this is a bonanza time for identity theft, whether that be the simple skimming of your credit card number right through to your entire personal details being stolen.
• With this information your money can be taken and your credit rating affected - you could even be arrested for crimes someone else has committed, as happened to Derek Bond in February 2003.
• The FBI was hunting a fugitive called Derek Sykes wanted in connection with a multimillion dollar fraud case.
• Unfortunately, in 1989 Sykes began using the name Derek Bond, along with the real Mr. Bond's date of birth and passport number.
• Featured in the bestselling books turned films, The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Day of the Jackal, chances are we all know someone who has been a victim of identity theft.
• Indeed, official figures from Cifas, the UK's fraud prevention service, show that more than 101,500 people were victims of it in 2003.
• Frank Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can, and once arguably the world's greatest fraudster, has called it "the crime of this century".
• And Rob Hamadi, head of communications for the Publishers Association where he works on high technology crime issues and law enforcement liaison, adds, "We are all at risk of becoming a victim of identity theft."
• Rob wants people to protect themselves against the myriad of financial scams which now make up our modern 21st century world.
• And we willingly allow our credit card out of our sight in restaurants, cafes and at petrol stations, or inadequately protect our PIN numbers.
• But as Rob points out, there is no such thing as zero risk in the real world.
• "If someone stole your identity in the UK and emptied your bank accounts and applied for and used several credit cards in your name, then the banks would be considered the victim, not you," Rob says.