An article about ID theft on Radio four this morning
prompted me to share some information with you and to highlight help available
for ARAG Family Legal Solutions policyholders.
The news report exposed an increase of 57% in the
number of victims of identity theft last year from 94,500 victims in 2014 to
148,000 victims in 2015.
Research found that fraudsters scour social media
websites to obtain personal data such as name, date of birth, address and bank details and it was claimed that " Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn had
become a "hunting ground" for identity thieves". More than 85%
of the frauds were carried out online.
Here's
a link to the BBC news item which provides further links to articles about keep
personal ID safe and the type of scams to guard against. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36701297
Here is another link that was mentioned on Martin’s Money
Saving website. This looks quite good
Check
if hackers have stolen your personal info. It allows you to find out if
passwords, email addresses, your home address, phone numbers or your DOB have
been exposed after the big hacks of the last few years (including the recent
LinkedIn warning). Hack check
Help from ARAG
ARAG Family Legal Solutions provides a helpline and full
resolution service for policyholders who want advice about and tips keeping
personal information secure or suspect that they may have been the target of ID
theft. The helpline is available 8.00am – 8.00pm and policyholders will find
the contact phone number in their ARAG policy wording. The Insured can claim
for reimbursement of communication costs incurred to repair their credit rating
and get help to communicate with banks and card providers. Most ID theft
problems can be resolved with the help of a resolution case-worker.
If, following the resolution case-worker’s assistance, it
becomes necessary to pursue or defend legal action to resolve the matter, cover
is available to pay the Insured’s legal costs. The case-worker will help the
Insured to report the matter to our Claims Team at that point and we will
arrange to appoint a lawyer under the terms of the policy.
Watch this space…... We will soon be bringing you more
information about some of the cases we have dealt with.
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