COMMENT
I'm A Victim Of Fraud

It seems that barely a day goes by without reports of various new high tech scams being put in place by thieves.

We've seen how easy it was for researchers at Which? Magazine to steal the identity of their editor – and we know that criminals netted an estimated £1.3bn from identity fraud last year. And as a result, most of us are stringent with our financial details, setting up firewalls and virus scanners on our computers and shredding any information before disposal.

I, for one, am very careful with my financial details. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be enough as I received a letter at the weekend informing me that a bank account that I haven't used for many years is now £32 overdrawn. And what's more, another 'company' was in the process of setting up a further direct debit too.

Of course this could be a genuine mistake – someone may have given out the wrong bank account details when setting up their direct debits. Unfortunately, my bank doesn't believe this to be the case and is currently investigating it as fraud.

I feel quite foolish (small f!) as it's an account that I don't even use and have been meaning to close for years. I'm also a bit surprised that it has been accessed – I haven't thrown away any documentation relating to it and it isn't set up for internet or telephone banking. My bank doesn't seem to know either.

Luckily, there was no overdraft facility on the account so the discrepancy was flagged relatively quickly. My bank has also refunded the money (and subsequent charges).

But valuable lessons have been learned (especially by friends who previously believed fraud only affects other people, not people they know).

Remember to shred any documentation that you no longer need and importantly, keep a very close eye on those statements. Watch out for any new direct debits that you don't recognise – and don't expect fraudulent transactions to be only for large amounts. Both of the debits set up on my account were for ca. £32 – smallish sums that could go unnoticed in the sea of transactions.

Keep an eye on your credit report too – ideally send off for a copy every six months to ensure no fraudulent applications for credit have taken place under your name. You can also sign up to receive a regular online report to spot any fraudulent activity early for a small fee.

And most importantly, learn from my mistake - make sure you close any accounts (and credit cards) you no longer use – and get written proof of closure from your bank or provider.

You can find more information about how to protect yourself from the Home Office identity theft website, and the CIFAS fraud prevention service.

You can get a free 30 day trial of Experian's Credit Expert by clicking here.