Nick Gardner | October 01, 2009



A FIFTH of all Australians are victims of credit card fraud or computer hackers, a crime report said.

IDENTITY theft has reached epidemic proportions in Australia, more than one in five people falling victim to credit-card fraudsters or computer hackers.

The Identity Crimes Report, commissioned by Veda Advantage and conducted by Galaxy Research, found more than 1.5 million people had their credit cards skimmed, and 1.2 million had their bank accounts illegally accessed.



Australia's lapse in deploying anti-fraud technology, and the economic slowdown, are blamed for the rapid rise in crimes – up at least 23 per cent on a year ago.



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Press Release:

20% OF AUSTRALIANS HAVE EXPERIENCED IDENTITY CRIME

1 October 2009:  New research shows credit card theft and unauthorised bank account access is rife across Australia, with more than one in five Australians aged 16 years or older reporting that someone had: stolen their identity; illegally accessed, or tried to access their bank accounts; stolen or skimmed credit cards; or tried to steal their bank account PIN (personal identification number).                                           



Veda Advantage's Identity Crimes Report*, conducted by Galaxy Research, found more than 1.5 million Australians had credit cards illegally skimmed, and 1.2 million had bank accounts illegally accessed. Almost 1.2 million (7%) Australians had personal mail stolen.



Kelvin Kirk, Veda Advantage Head of Marketing and Communications, said the results also indicate younger Australians are at increased risk of identity theft. "Australians older than 50 years are less likely to have ever experienced bank account or credit card crime, compared to those aged  25 to 49 years, a quarter of whom  have been personally affected by identity crime, including: having bank accounts and credit cards illegally accessed; or mail; and or PIN numbers stolen.

"Credit card crime is especially prevalent, with almost 10% of Australians surveyed falling victim to someone either stealing or skimming their credit card. People aged from 25 to 49 years are the most impacted by mail theft," Mr. Kirk said.

The report also indicates more than one third (34%) of Australians surveyed reported losing their wallet or purse containing personal identification documents and credit cards,  leaving them particularly vulnerable  to identity theft.



A separate Veda Advantage study conducted by Galaxy Research in April this year found identity theft in Australia is increasing, with 4.4 million Australians (26%) affected by identity theft*, compared to 3.8 million (23%) for the same period in 2008. However, despite this growing crime rate, almost 70% of Australians had failed to take even simple measures to protect their identity. 



Mr. Kirk said many people don't realise they can take simple steps to help protect themselves against identity crime. "Every credit-active Australian has a credit file, which is like a financial passport. A credit file includes applications for credit over the past five years - from water and mobile services to mortgages, personal loans and credit cards. By setting up an alert service, which is linked to your credit file, you can be notified if someone commits identity theft and makes a credit application using your identity documents. This should be a protective routine measure for all credit-active adult Australians.



"Services such as SecureIdentity* provides proactive assistance, including a credit file alert service, and a cancellation and replacement service for financial cards, as well as temporarily blocking lost or stolen mobile phones and acting as a contact point for the return of lost keys and luggage. The service extends to offering an emergency cash advance and a 24-hour phone hotline from anywhere in the world.



"Generally, people don't start worrying about identity crime until it happens to them. However, by taking the initiative and putting simple procedures in place to minimise this risk, Australians may not have to experience the cost and inconvenience of identity crime. We encourage everyone to visit www.secureidentity.com.au and complete the identity risk test to help gauge your personal level of risk to identity crime," Mr. Kirk said.

Other Galaxy Research findings include:

• In South Australia almost one quarter (24%) of people had either been victims of identity theft through illegal access to their bank accounts or PIN number; or alternatively; had mail stolen; or had lost their purse or wallet containing valuable ID documents. This was followed by Queensland (22%), New South Wales (20%), Victoria and Tasmania (18%) and Western Australia (17%).


• White-collar Australians (22%) are more likely than blue-collar Australians (16%) to be victims of bank account and credit card crime.


• 5% of Australians have personally experienced identity theft; 9%, or 1.55 million, have had someone steal or illegally skim their credit card, 7% have experienced someone illegally accessing their bank accounts and 7% have had their personal mail stolen.


• More than one -third (34%) of Australians have lost their purse or wallet containing ID and credit cards.

Veda Advantage has devised the C.A.L.M. strategy - four simple steps to help minimise Australians' exposure to identity crimes:

1. Check- your credit file, which is like your financial passport. Make sure your address is correct and your file is accurate. If you move house, notify everyone about your change of address, as mail sent to the wrong address could be used to steal your identity.


2. Alert - sign up to a service which allows you to cancel your credit cards and helps retrieve valuables such as luggage or house/car keys in the event they are lost or stolen. A credit file alert service may also help minimise your risk of identity crime and financial loss.


3. Lock - your mailbox and hide your passwords. Keep your PIN number private, change your online passwords every few months and lock your mailbox to reduce the threat of mail theft. Shred important documents after use. 


4. Monitor - your mail and credit file. Stay alert to make sure you are receiving all mail and monitor your bank statements for any irregularities. Sign up to the SecureIdentity service to receive credit file alerts, which help you monitor your credit file. Cancel important financial cards if they are lost or stolen.

Media Information:

Sally Robertson (02) 9270 0289 or mobile: 0400 927 003.



Veda Advantage Information Services and Solutions Limited ABN 26 000 602 862

* About the Identity Crimes Report: This study was conducted on the Galaxy Omnibus on the weekend of 4-6^th of

September, 2009. The sample was 1,100 respondents aged 16 years and older distributed evenly throughout Australia, Interviews were conducted using CATI (computer assisted telephone interviewing) with telephone numbers randomly selected from electronic White Pages. All interviewers were personally trained and briefed on the requirements of the study. Age, gender and region quotas were applied to the sample. Following the completion of interviewing, the data was weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the latest ABS population estimates.

* SecureIdentity is a service offered by Secure Sentinel which is part of the Veda Advantage Group.  Terms and conditions apply.



About Veda Advantage: www.vedaadvantage.com

Veda Advantage has been at the forefront of the information business for many decades. Issues such as privacy, data security, fraud and business intelligence are part of our commercial landscape. A division of Veda Advantage, Information Services and Solutions Ltd (VISS)* holds the country's largest database of credit files for more than 14.5 million credit-active Australians. The vast majority of applications for credit in Australia are checked against the files held by Veda Advantage - providing businesses with the information and knowledge to assist them in making informed decision in customer acquisition and credit risk management.