Asked by: Claire Hazelgrove (Labour - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will (a) take steps to make identity theft a police-recordable crime and (b) make an assessment of the adequacy of support given to victims of identity theft.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The act of stealing personal information, and using it for criminal means and gains, is already outlawed. This includes through legislation such as the Fraud Act 2006, Computer Misuse Act 1990 and the Data Protection Act 2018.
The most effective way of preventing identity theft is to improve the safety and security of the identity systems we use and empower people to protect themselves from identity theft, particularly online.
We have introduced a checklist providing advice and steps on how to prevent the misuse of identities which can be found here:https://data.actionfraud.police.uk/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Identity-theft-victims-checklist.pdf
Further information about staying safe online and to avoid identity theft-enabled fraud can be found at: https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk/