Within the United Kingdom, identity fraud has become one of highest rating crimes to date. The UK government estimates that each year identity fraud costs them 1.3 Billion. Identity fraud has worked because many companies and people in general have been convinced in some way to hand over their items, documents or money. Identity fraud can remain undetected for several months before anyone realizes what has been done.

The UK has come up with an idea that is due in the year 2007. They intend to issue Identification cards that contain information biometrically about the individual. This information could come in the form of fingerprints or an iris scan. Many people do not believe this will solve the problem. No matter what the government does to protect your identity, one thing will always remain the same. The protection of your identity is largely your concern.

There are a few things that you can do in efforts to prevent identity theft. This of course, is no guarantee, but it is a great step in protecting yourself from thieves and fraud.

When you are cleaning out your desk, do not simply throw your personal items away. Items such as bank statements, credit card statements, receipts and utility bills should be destroyed. You could burn these items or obtain a shredder. A shredder can do multiple things; it can destroy your personal documents as well as compact discs or floppy disks that could contain identifying information. Additionally, some shredders will shred a credit card as well.

Protect your credit cards just as you would your cash. When you receive a new credit card, it should be signed by you immediately. If you must destroy a credit card, you should shred it by either using a shredder or cutting it up thoroughly with scissors. If your credit card should become stolen or lost, report it to the credit card companies instantly, this will prevent the card from being used. Another thing many people do not consider, is when you are dining out, be watchful of letting your card out of sight. One popular fraud is to simply take an imprint or write down the numbers for use later.

Lastly, when you receive your credit card or bank statements open and review them immediately. If you see anything out of the ordinary upon the statements, you should call the company right away and begin a investigation into it. Additionally, if you should ever notice your statement has not arrived on time, you should make a telephone call to the company to investigate this. It is possible that is has been routed to an address other than your own.