A retiree was left “frustrated and unnerved” after discovering a scammer has taken out 40 credit cards in his name.
Adrian Waters, 64, found out he was victim of identity fraud in June 2023 after receiving a letter with a credit card inside – one he hadn’t ordered.
The father-of-four thought it was strange, but didn’t think too much of it, until another letter turned up a few days later, this one with a PIN for a different credit card inside – another that he hadn’t applied for.
At this point, he knew something was wrong. Adrian, who lives in Banbury, Oxfordshire, told i: “One morning, I received a credit card in the post without ordering it, followed by a letter with a PIN for another credit card, so I knew that something was wrong.
“I immediately went to check my credit score, using Checkmyfile, something I hadn’t checked for years and years because I’m retired, have paid off my mortgage and don’t need to apply for credit.
“To my horror, I discovered that I’d applied for around 40 different credit cards. I was a victim of identity fraud – someone had stolen a letter from my post-box from the bank and had applied for all of these credit cards in my name.”
Adrian, who used to work in financial services, used credit report provider Checkmyfile as they are the only one that sources credit history from all three agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – in one place. This meant he was able to see all the cards that had been taken out in his name and ultimately, without them, he might not have been able to track them all down, and so quickly.
He was in a complete state of shock and contacted the police straight away but to his bemusement, he was told that he wasn’t in fact the victim.
He added: “I contacted the police, but they informed me there was little they could do since I was not the victim – it was the credit card companies.”
Identity fraud, or “ID theft”, involves the use of a person’s stolen details to commit crime, according to the Metropolitan Police.
Many victims never find out exactly how someone got hold of their details, and clearing things up afterwards can be costly and stressful.
This was certainly the case with Adrian. “I was then left with the daunting task of approaching each credit card company individually to explain that I was a victim of identity theft.
“It was no easy feat – it involved relentless chasing to ensure the credit card companies had the correct information and follow-ups to verify that the issue had been resolved.
“The entire ordeal was both frustrating and unnerving, knowing someone out there was using my identity.
“It’s possible significant amounts of money had been spent on the cards, and because my credit score was high, the limits on the cards were substantial.”
Research by campaign group Stop ID Fraud found that 24 per cent of UK citizens have been a victim of identity fraud, which is the highest figure in Europe. A further 75 per cent have been exposed to scams used by identity fraudsters.
It’s now one of the UK’s fastest growing crimes and if Adrian didn’t check his credit score, he wouldn’t have known it was happening to him.
Nearly half (44 per cent) of Britons admitted to not knowing their credit score, in a recent survey by car finance experts Zuto, with those aged 20-29 the least likely to know their score (48 per cent).
When asked how often they check their score and report, almost one in five (16 per cent) revealed that they have actually never checked their score.
Jo Allsop, director of lenders at Zuto, said: “Across the UK, there are currently three credit agencies – Experian, Equifax and Transunion with every finance company using one of these, but it can vary by lender which one they use.
“Importantly, they all use different bands to decide what is a good and bad credit score. Having said that, as a general rule of thumb, the higher, the better.
“Equifax considers a good credit score to sit between 531 and 810. For Experian, this looks like 881-960. Finally, Transunion considers 604-627 to be a good score.
“It is worth bearing this in mind when reviewing your score to understand where you sit, as you may be sitting in a slightly different band than you think.”
After about three months of back and forth, Adrian managed to get the credit searches and negative points reversed, but it wasn’t without a fight.
How to prevent identity theft
You can better protect yourself from identity theft by taking the below steps, according to Experian:
- Protecting your devices with strong passwords
- Using a password manager
- Keeping an eye on your credit reports
- Being cautious about information you share on social media