Police are urging people to protect their information and their documents as part of Privacy Awareness Week this year.
Detective Matthew Cleaver of the Police National Intelligence Centre says Police identified around 1100 separate misuses of identity in the 07/08 financial year, involving almost 500 fictional and genuine identities.
"We know these figures are likely to be a fraction of the real volume of activity in New Zealand and they can only be seen as indicative of the amount of crime occurring in this area."
"We advise people to consider any evidence of their identity as potentially valuable and to report stolen documents to the police."
"Offenders will steal personal documents because they provide the means of committing further crime using someone elses details. In the wrong hands any document with any personal details can be valuable."
Mr Cleaver says people also need to be aware of the storage and use of their Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) for banking
These days most people are aware that they should never give their PIN information to anybody, but they also need to be careful while entering them into ATMs.
"There have been instances of people operating hidden cameras in an attempt to record people's PINs as they enter them into the machines.
"It is not widespread, but it does happen. To protect your PIN make sure that you cover the number pad with your other hand while you enter the numbers and also ensure that no one is standing too closely behind you "shoulder surfing" while you do it."
"Prevention is much better than the cure in the area of identity misuse. It can be extremely hard to prosecute or even detect identity crime.
"Careful storage, use and disposal of your documents will go along way to protecting you from identity theft."
Prevention Advice • Be mindful who you give out personal information to - over the phone, personally or via computer. Ask why people need your personal information and ensure they treat it securely if you provide it. • Guard your mail - lock your letterbox, be aware of what to expect via mail - follow up with the Post Office if you stop receiving mail (it may possibly be redirected). • Dispose of personal information securely (shred papers, wipe / remove computer hard drives before sale). • Minimise identification documents carried around - including what is left in the car - these are valuable items. • Check bank and credit card statements for unauthorised transactions. Be prompt in reporting to the bank any discrepancies. • Regularly check your Credit File held by National Credit Reporting Agencies. If you notice any unauthorised credit activity you should immediately follow this up with the Credit Reporting Agency and the company making the enquiry. • Be very wary of how much personal information you post on publicly accessible websites. Personal information can be misused in a variety of ways by identity criminals, some of whom do trawl websites. Once information is placed on the Internet it usually will remain accessible forever even if people remove the original posting.
ENDS