THE UK’s leading fraud prevention service – Cifas – is warning of record rises in the levels of identity fraud reported in the first six months of 2017.

Cifas said this week: “A record 89,000 identity frauds were recorded, up five per cent from last year. Eighty three per cent of identity frauds were perpetrated online.”

Hampshire Constabulary reports around 500 cases to Cifas each month, mostly from businesses. And it has provided the following advice to help protect against identity fraud:

• Shred documents, don’t just bin

• Be careful what you post on social media. Check privacy settings and never post your date of birth or full address. Be cautious

• Check your bank statements regularly. Look for any suspicious transactions. If you find any then report to your bank immediately

• Use a different complex password for each online account using 10-plus mixed characters, or better still, use a passphrase only you will know

• Use anti-virus on all your devices and update whenever prompted to do so in order to keep the bad guys out

• Use credit reference agencies such as Experian or Equifax to monitor credit file for unexpected changes. If you see anything suspicious, report these concerns to your bank, police or Action Fraud

• Never share your PINs or passwords with anyone, and don’t write them down. Use a secure password app or encrypt them.

• Getting rid of old computers? Destroy the hard drive – take a hammer to it, don’t just bin it.

Finally, Do you know how to protect your business against identity fraud?

Hampshire Constabulary can help. Get in touch to arrange a talk from a cyber protect specialists.

For details visit www.hampshire. police.uk and for more advice, follow them on Twitter @HCCyber Protect

• For more details about how your business can report fraud visit www.actionfraud.police.uk/BRT.