UK facing a monumental identity crisis

Specialists urge organisations to do more to tackle ID fraud or face the consequences*

London, UK, ñ With many companies reporting soaring incidences of on-line security breaches, customers are now more at risk of becoming victims of identity fraud than ever before. According to fraud and IT specialists Detica, all the signs are pointing towards the UK facing a full-scale identity crisis.

David Porter, Head of Security and Risk at specialist IT consultancy Detica, voices his concerns: ìCybercrime is costing UK businesses around 2.4bn[1] a year as fraudsters exploit every aspect of modern technology to pull off their crimes. People are susceptible to identity scams whether shopping, banking online or even voting, as recent controversy around postal ballots has shown. If things continue on this track, then people are going to start abandoning online channels and go back to old-fashioned routes.

ìJust as recent research has shown that the public prefers the safety of the ballot box when it comes to voting, they may also start going back to only shopping in stores and doing all their banking through their branch ñ even to the extent of using cheques rather than credit cards.î

Porter believes that the risks are now so great that country is in need of a nationwide ID checking scheme, either to tie-in with the governmentís ID card proposal or as a separate initiative. The government has recently announced that it is working with the banking industry to establish the sector as a pioneer of online authentication, which may include the introduction of an identity card. Or the UK could follow the example of the US, where the Senate has recently unveiled proposals to prevent ID theft by legally requiring companies to protect customersí personal data.

ìWhat is clear is that some kind of ID checking facility needs to be implemented and fast,î warns Porter. ìThis does not necessarily have to be in the form of a compulsory government scheme, but could be incorporated into your existing chip & PIN card or even the chip in your mobile phone. The technology to help combat identity fraudsters is all around us, one type, for example, comes in the form of ëone timeí passwords that some organisations issue to online shoppers. Whichever technology is chosen, any anti-ID fraud initiative will need to be implemented coherently, with buy-in from businesses and the public alike.

ìThe sad truth is that if something isnít done soon, then the technology that was meant to be a quick, cheap and efficient method for banks and retailers to interact with consumers is going to end up costing them dearly in terms of time and money,î concludes Porter.