Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to make identity theft a recordable crime.

Current legislation can already be used to prosecute those committing identity frauds. The Fraud Act 2006 covers the selling and using of stolen personal information to commit fraud. Legislation around data security covers the act of stealing personal information. This includes the Computer Misuse Act 1990, the Identity Documents Act 2010 and the Data Protection Act 2018. There are no plans for further legislation.

A recordable crime of fraud is committed when financial gain is made from the use of a person’s stolen identity, rather than when the identity itself is stolen. This approach ensures that crimes are not double counted under the Home Office Counting Rules.

Those who have had their identity stolen can report the matter to Action fraud, even when no financial loss has occurred. This information is logged as an information report, which is used to build a clearer intelligence picture, to identify fraudsters and prevent further victimisation.