Call for free credit rating statements to catch fraudsters

UK consumers should be given an annual credit rating to identify when criminals have attempted to use their details to apply for financial items.

Consumers in the UK should receive a free copy of their credit report annually, to help combat fraud, according to experts.

The regular checking of ratings can be one of the most helpful ways of heading off fraud, or theft.

A new range of criminals, who obtain personal information about a cardholder from discarded statements and use their details to their financial advantage, has become more prominent in recent years.

To combat the problem criminologist Martin Gill suggests in his report Identity Theft and Fraud: Learning from the USA, that consumers be consistently informed of their credit rating on a yearly basis so that it can be identified if someone is using their name on applications.

Mr Gill also said that credit reference agencies should share fraud alerts, so victims do not have to contact all agencies involved separately.

In his report Mr Gill says: "The consequences for ID theft victims can be very severe and it is clear that in the UK things are not being made difficult enough for offenders."

It is estimated that one in four adults has been affected by identity theft.