The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Deputy Chair, Ms Louise Sylvan, today warned Australians to be alert to scams that try to steal their identity.
"Scams aren't just sent to people to extract their money," she said. "In many cases they are sent with the intention of collecting enough information to steal your identity. This is done through 'snail-mail', telephone or email scams - it doesn't matter what method they use - the intention is the same."
Consumers can do a number of simple things to help protect them from identity theft and stay out of the scammer's traps. Ms Sylvan offered the following tips to help consumers protect themselves from identity frauds:
1. Never give out personal information to someone you don't know or trust.
Putting together a 'picture' of the person is the start of building up the use of your identity fraudulently. Don't make it easy! People that you meet online or casually may not be people you can trust – don't give them personal information like your phone number or where you live, or important confirming evidence like children's and spouses names or mother's maiden name. Your personal information is valuable – take a bit of care who gets hold of it.
2. Don't just bin it – destroy old bills, records, or expired cards.
Identity thieves will use all methods to build up a profile on people – including rummaging in your garbage for records of past purchases, expired credit and other cards, and telephone and utility bills. Don't help them out! Destroy these by ripping them up or shredding them before you discard them. And be sure to check important bills like credit cards and account statements for activity that was not yours!
3. Check your credit report at least once a year.
An easy way to make sure that fraudulent use of your identity has not occurred is to check your credit report from a reputable source. If you find that you have been marked as having unpaid accounts, for example, that you have not ever heard of, you might have become the victim of an identity theft. If you suspect this, get hold of the identity kit and follow the advice for dealing with this serious problem.