Identity crime is on the rise as criminals become cyber savvy and fish around on social networking sites for personal information, experts say.
Already the cost of identity crime is put at up to $200 million a year in New Zealand. Facebook, Bebo and Twitter continue to gain popularity but having weak passwords and posting personal information make the sites easy prey for criminals.
Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff said recent reports suggested a huge increase in social networking sites being used for identity fraud. If someone got enough personal information, including your name, address, date of birth, bank account number or employment details, they could apply for a credit card or loan in your name, she said. “Your personal information has value – don’t let someone else profit from it.”
Internal Affairs said identity crime was increasingly used to facilitate other crime.
Identity crime – including creating a false identity with fictitious data and counterfeit documents, stealing the identity of another person or colluding with someone to get access to their data or documents – is believed to cost between $132m to $200m to the economy annually.
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