Identity fraud: the victims and criminals

By Jennifer Hill

LONDON (Reuters) - Male? 30-something? Then statistics show you are more likely to fall prey to identity fraudsters than any other group.

Some 67 percent of the 55,500 victims of impersonation recorded on the database of fraud prevention service CIFAS are male, and most are aged 31 to 40 (28 percent) and 41 to 50 (23 percent).

But, says Martin Gill, a professor of criminology at Leicester University, many types of people can fall victim to those intent on stealing their identity.

"And it often takes them a long time to find out about it," he told delegates at the ninth annual European plastic card and online fraud conference, staged in London.

The criminals vary too, ranging from those who drift into it via shop-lifting to highly organised criminal gangs.

Whatever guise they come in, their trade is simple -- and hugely profitable.

"What we do know when we speak to offenders is that it's easy. They say it's lucrative, the chance of getting caught isn't that high and even when they are, the penalties aren't that high," says Gill.

Around half of victims do not know how documents are obtained, but 15 percent believe documents or personal details were stolen and 13 percent think their mail was intercepted.