Written question asked by Rosie Cooper (Labour) on Tuesday, 19 June 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 21 June 2007. It was answered by Joan Ryan (Labour) on Thursday, 21 June 2007 on behalf of the Home Office.

Personation: Lancashire

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of (a) identity and (b) online fraud were recorded in West Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Answer: The information requested is not available centrally. The use of another person’s identification details (or the use of false identification details), often referred to as identity theft, is not in itself an offence in law. It is the action that is undertaken, using those identification details, that needs to be considered in respect of whether an offence has occurred and should be recorded.With regard to online fraud, this is not a separately defined offence in law and such instances will be recorded under the appropriate fraud classification depending on the circumstances of the offence.

Secondary information