Research from credit reference agency Call Credit has found that millions of people in the UK are leaving themselves open to ID theft because they don't take basic precautions.
Identity theft affects more than 100,000 people every year in Britain alone. It happens when personal information is obtained by someone else without the owners knowledge, and usually leads to fraud, deception or obtaining benefits and services in the victims name.
The government estimates that the cost to the economy is more than £1.3 billion per year. The research found that over half of people have never checked their credit file and 27.7% have a debit/credit or store card that they haven't used for over 12 months. Over 24% admit that they don't shred personal documents before throwing them away and over 34% use the same password or pin number for different accounts.
Our view
Take care, review you statements and use different PINs - you have been warned.