STALKING used to be a problem reserved for the famous, but now the internet has catapulted the names and personal details of millions of ordinary people into the public realm.

This has created myriad opportunities for identity fraudsters, who hunt for information about potential victims with the aim of taking out loans and credit cards in their names. Identity fraud now costs the UK economy £1.7 billion a year.

While sales of shredders — which can be used to dispose of unwanted financial correspondence — are on the rise, many people are unaware of the threat to their identity posed by the internet.

Barry Stamp, joint managing director of Checkmyfile.com, a credit information service, says: “Identity fraudsters make stealing people’s personal information their full-time job. All they need is a few crucial pieces of information such as your name, address and place of birth. If these fall into the wrong hands, they have you. Yet many people leave this information publicly available online.”

Times Money looks at the websites that can be used by identity fraudsters to steal your personal information, and explains steps you can take to stop them.





192.com

This website enables users to find out where a person lives, his or her stated occupation and telephone number. If you do not want to appear on 192.com, you can have your details removed by completing form C01. This can be downloaded from www.192.com/ downloads/C01.pdf.

Dominic Blackburn, director of new technology at 192.com, says that the information service tracks every search that is made and has worked with the police on fraud cases in the past. He says: “If you go exdirectory, your telephone details will be removed from the website within a week. You can also opt out of the electoral roll that holds your address details for marketing purposes.”





Friends Reunited Friends Reunited, the cult website that allows you to track down old schoolfriends and work colleagues, can be used by fraudsters. The website has a powerful search engine: users can search using a first names and surnames, and locations. I found a friend’s school within seconds. This is information that is sometimes requested when logging on to use an internet bank account. Users of Friends Reunited can easily remove their details from the school, university or workplace where their name is listed.





Google

Have you ever typed your name into Google? The tentacles of the world’s most powerful search engine make it possible to carry out “cyberchecks” on virtually anyone.

If you happen to be a John Smith living in London, your chances of being traced are remote, but a Zeb Wheeler living in a remote village has a far greater chance of being tracked down.

The online archives of regional and local newspapers are equipped with search engines, which enable fraudsters to find personal information about potential victims.

A director of a leading anti-fraud organisation told Times Money that he was shocked to discover that his address was published online by his local authority after he had objected to planning permission.

Search engines such as Google and Altavista can also be used to find genealogy websites that contain family details. A fraudster can use such websites to find details such as a mother’s maiden name, which is required by most banks to verify a customer’s identity.

A spokeswoman for Google says: “Information in our search results is actually located on third-party publicly available webpages. To remove your information from our search results, you need to contact the webmaster of the third-party site.”





Hotmail

A fraudster can use the anonymity of a cyber café to set up a Hotmail or Yahoo! e-mail account using a name that appears to be yours. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to trace someone who has set up such an account.



Companies House

If you are a director of a company, your name and address will be listed at www. companieshouse.gov.uk. The details are removed only in exceptional cases, such as a directorship at Huntingdon Life Sciences, the research company under siege from animal rights activists. Disqualified directors are also unable to remove details such as their address from www.insolvency.gov.uk.

For more on how to prevent fraud visit www.timesonline.co.uk/consumeraffairs or www.timesonline.co.uk/moneyweblog