One in five of an increasing number of identity frauds are  committed against company directors, new research has revealed today.

The report by fraud prevention service Cifas and LexisNexis Risk Solutions suggests 19 per cent of identity fraud victims are company directors, despite them comprising less than nine per cent of the UK's population.

It comes at a time when identity fraud is at an all-time high, having risen by nearly 70 per cent since 2010 to almost 173,000 individual cases in 2016.

The report identified a trend where identity fraudsters targeting company directors are attempting to obtain credit files as a pre-cursor to committing identity fraud.

Not only were company directors statistically more likely to be victims of fraud, they were also found to be at risk from multiple impersonations, with 17 per cent of director-level victims suffering impersonation fraud more than once across the three-and-a-half year period.

Nearly a third of director-level fraud victims were in their 30s, suggesting fraudsters find greater success targeting younger generations who are likely to have a typically larger digital footprint.

Cifas chairman Lady Barbara Judge said: "With almost one in every two crimes a fraud or cybercrime, company directors are increasingly aware of the need to have the right systems and processes in place to protect their staff and customers from this growing threat.

"This research reveals that they themselves are at increased risk of identity fraud in comparison to the rest of the UK.

"There will always be more publicly available information about you if you run your own business compared to other individuals.

"I, however, would encourage company directors to do as much as possible to separate their personal and company personas.

"Limit the personal information you share on social media and professional networking sites, and proactively check your credit file and your accounts.

"The quicker you spot that your details have been used fraudulently, the easier it will be to limit the damage caused."

In light of the report findings, Cifas and LexisNexis Risk Solutions compiled a list of strategies aimed at company directors to protect themselves:

Check your credit file: a quick and easy piece of advice for everyone - always keep a close eye for anything suspicious on your credit file. Fraudsters will often access a victim's credit file first to see if it's an identity worth using. By reviewing yours regularly, you can spot any suspicious activity before it is too late.

Think about your digital footprint: make things more difficult for fraudsters by limiting what personal information is available in the public domain either on social media or professional networking sites.

Don't forget about paperwork and post: shred all your financial documents before you throw them away and remember to redirect your mail if you change address or move home.

What do you think? Email mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk 

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