Written question asked by Nigel Evans (Conservative) on Wednesday, 2 March 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 9 March 2005. It was answered by Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour) on Wednesday, 9 March 2005 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been the victim of identity theft in the latest three years for which figures are available. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been the victim of identity theft in the latest three years for which figures are available. [220263] Mr. Browne: It is not a criminal offence for a person simply to use another identity. However, false identities are often used to facilitate other offences such as deception and money laundering. The police do not generally record incidents of identity theft because prosecutions are recorded for the offences facilitated by false identities. However, the 240 members of CIFAS, the UK's Fraud Prevention Service for the private sector (mainly financial services companies), identified 74,000 cases of identity and impersonation fraud in 2002, 101,000 in 2003 and 124,000 in 2004.

Secondary information