Wallet theft can mean more than 'spare change'
- Published: 19/07/2007
Getting your wallet stolen can mean more than simply losing a bit of spare cash, a new report claims.
A study from Capital One states that 93 per cent of Brits regularly leave their homes with enough information contained in their wallets to allow a crafty criminal to commit identity theft.
Bank statements, medical records and driving licences are just a few of the items that thieves could use to perpetrate identity theft - and Capital One claims that we should start considering ID theft as a more serious issue than simply losing spare change.
"Identity theft is a serious issue, and one that can leave us exposed to a range of crimes," Professor Martin Gill, criminologist from Perpetuity, a division of the University of Leicester, explained.
"Would-be thieves only need a few snippets of information to start stealing an identity. By getting hold of personal information such as our address, bank details and date of birth a canny criminal can begin to create chaos within a matter of hours - applying for credit cards, securing loans, buying a mobile phone, applying for benefits for example - all under the stolen identity."
Around 43.5 million of us carry credit or debit cards around in our wallets, with 24.5 million taking their driving licences around on their travels and 23.5 million carrying old receipts.
BBC journalist Kofi Sekyere recently revealed how he ended up in a Slovenian prison through a case of mistake identity caused by ID theft. His passport had been stolen seven years earlier and somehow slipped into the hands of a German fraudster.
A study from Capital One states that 93 per cent of Brits regularly leave their homes with enough information contained in their wallets to allow a crafty criminal to commit identity theft.
Bank statements, medical records and driving licences are just a few of the items that thieves could use to perpetrate identity theft - and Capital One claims that we should start considering ID theft as a more serious issue than simply losing spare change.
"Identity theft is a serious issue, and one that can leave us exposed to a range of crimes," Professor Martin Gill, criminologist from Perpetuity, a division of the University of Leicester, explained.
"Would-be thieves only need a few snippets of information to start stealing an identity. By getting hold of personal information such as our address, bank details and date of birth a canny criminal can begin to create chaos within a matter of hours - applying for credit cards, securing loans, buying a mobile phone, applying for benefits for example - all under the stolen identity."
Around 43.5 million of us carry credit or debit cards around in our wallets, with 24.5 million taking their driving licences around on their travels and 23.5 million carrying old receipts.
BBC journalist Kofi Sekyere recently revealed how he ended up in a Slovenian prison through a case of mistake identity caused by ID theft. His passport had been stolen seven years earlier and somehow slipped into the hands of a German fraudster.