Katie Price becomes latest celebrity victim of ID fraud
Saturday, 08 October 2011 11:59
The news that Katie Price has become a victim of identity fraud has highlighted the need of consumers to safeguard their personal details.
Katie Price, the celebrity author and model, had £14,000 stolen from one of her bank accounts and had to cancel her credit cards.
Ms Price became suspicious during a shopping trip in Brighton when three of her credit cards were rejected as she tried to pay for goods. She checked with her bank and was told that the three cards had been cancelled without her permission. When she checked the balance on one of the cards she discovered that three separate withdrawals of cash had been made, totalling £14,000.
Police have found CCTV footage of a woman impersonating Price and withdrawing money from a branch of HSBC in Lincolnshire. Ms Price has had the £14,000 credited back to her account by HSBC.
Katie Price is just the latest in a long line of celebrities who have been the victim of identity fraud. Harry Hill, Jeremy Clarkson and Ricky Gervais have all suffered at the hands of identity fraud.
ID fraud, according to the National Audit Office, affects more than 1.5 million people in the UK each year. There are lots of simple steps you can take to reduce the risk of becoming a victim.
- Check your financial statements and be alert to suspicious transactions.
- Shred documents that contain personal information when you throw them away.
- Never write down your PIN, passwords or share account details.
- Never respond to cold calls or email requests for personal information.
- Report the loss or theft of sources of identification, such as railcard or driving licences to the relevant authorities as soon as possible.
- Sign up for a free credit report so that you can find out what your rating is and see if anything unusual or that you don’t know about has damaged it.
Use the Myfinances.co.uk comparison tables to find the best deal on a new credit card.
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