Partner Profiles
National Identity Fraud Prevention Week is supported by the following public and private organisations – please click on the logos for more information.
At Fellowes®, we are dedicated to providing our consumers with workspace products and solutions that enhance the creation, management, storage and protection of important information. Since 2005 we have been proud to support National identity Fraud Prevention and to help businesses and individuals across Europe protect themselves from identity fraud.
More homes and businesses trust Fellowes, shredders to protect themselves from identity fraud than any other shredder brand in the UK - because we have developed new cutting-edge features including SafeSense technology™ to ensure all of our shredders are easy to use, delivering enhanced performance, reliability and performance.
By investing in a shredder for your home or your office, you can help to protect your identity. Use a cross cut shredder and always shred anything containing personal or confidential information before you throw it away. Want to know more? Click here to find the right shredder for your needs and help stop identity fraud.
www.fellowes.com/gb
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Metropolitan Police Initiatives
‘Sterling' is the Metropolitan Police's initiative to find new ways to address economic
crime. The main thrust of this strategy is to move forward together with partners
in a more proactive interventionist approach to solve the problem of economic crime
in London. As part of this initiative, a ‘Fraud Alert' website has been set up and
maintained by the Metropolitan Police. The site contains advice and information
from the police on all kinds of fraud, including identity fraud and company fraud.
www.met.police.uk/fraudalert
More details on Sterling is available from this leaflet, available for download:
Download Met Police Sterling Leaflet. The Met
Police's economic crime strategy
Sterling is also currently working closely with Companies House in Cardiff to combat
Corporate Identity frauds. This major initiative is explained in the following leaflet:
Download Met Police Scambusters. How to protect your business against fraud
Office of Fair Trading Initiatives
The Office of Fair Trading has set up an initiative designed to educate consumers
How to recognise a scam, – is it too good to be true?
A scam is when people con you out of your cash. There are hundreds of types of scams
– fake lotteries and prize draws, incredible schemes to make money quickly, fake
investment plans, work from home schemes the list goes on and on.
The Office of Fair Trading have a web page outlining how these scams work, and also
have produced a leaflet.
Website:
www.oft.gov.uk
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The National Fraud Authority (NFA) was established on 1 October 2008 to increase protection for the UK economy from the harm caused by fraud. It works with private, public and third sector organisations to initiate, co-ordinate and communicate counter-fraud activity across the economy.
The Authority's priorities are to tackle key fraud threats to the UK and to act effectively to pursue fraudsters and hold them to account. Also, the NFA is working to improve the support available to fraud victims and to build on the UK's capability to share and act on fraud knowledge, both nationally and internationally.
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Equifax is a credit reference agency committed to providing consumers
with instant access to the information held on them, which lenders use as part of
the process when approving credit applications.
Equifax has been leading the campaign for consumer education regarding credit information
since 2001. In 2003, it launched the first ever instant online credit report available
from www.equifax.co.uk. The service helped to combat the growing issue of ID theft,
enabled consumers to keep track of their financial transactions, and also provided
them with a new level of access to their credit information
Today, consumers can review their credit commitments to monitor fraudulent applications,
rectify any incorrect information, find out how lenders would score their credit
applications, and, overall, benefit from better financial management. Equifax has
helped over three quarter of a million consumers by providing them with their credit
information. With its 'Credit Education' pages, consumers can learn how to improve
their credit score, which life events may affect their ability to gain credit and
how to protect themselves against identity theft and fraud.
Equifax enables consumers to protect their identity and manage credit through a portfolio of services: The Equifax Credit Report™ can be accessed for the first 30 days free. If the customer does not cancel before the end of the 30 Day Free Trial, the service will continue at £6.99 per month, giving them unlimited online access to their credit information and weekly alerts on any changes to their credit file.
This is the first step anyone should take when they think they have been a victim
of ID Fraud. The Equifax Credit Report™ will show any fraudulent accounts that have
been opened in your name.
Equifax also includes online facilities enabling consumers to dispute any possible
discrepancies in their credit file, quickly and easily. And the company's expert
Credit File Advice Centre provides consumers with personal advice and support to
resolve queries with their credit file, including assistance with the problems that
arise if an individual is a victim of identity fraud. There is also a glossary of
terms to help consumers understand the information in their credit file and the
terminology used by lenders.
To learn how to protect your identity from fraudsters, visit www.equifax.co.uk today.
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CIFAS The UK's Fraud Prevention Service was established in 1988
by the major lenders in the UK consumer credit industry. Today the CIFAS membership
extends beyond consumer credit and encompasses telecommunications, factoring, insurance,
utilities, share dealing and commercial credit. CIFAS is a not for profit membership
association solely dedicated to the prevention of financial crime. CIFAS provides
a range of fraud prevention services to its Members and represents them to government,
the media and the business community, and provides them with best practice guidance,
training and networking opportunities.
CIFAS services are offered not just to Members but also to the general public through
the Protective Registration Service which helps to protect consumers from identity
fraud.
To learn more about CIFAS and how to protect your identity from fraudsters, visit www.cifas.org.uk.
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The Home Office is the lead government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, counter-terrorism and police. The Home Office is also responsible for the Police Service in England and Wales, as well as a number of independent services and public bodies.
The UK Border Agency, the Identity and Passport Service and the Criminal Records Bureau provide directly managed frontline services from within the Home Office. The UK Border Agency works to strengthen our borders, makes fast-track asylum decisions, ensures and enforces compliance with our immigration laws, boosts Britain's economy by bringing the right skills here from around the world, and ensures Britain is easy to visit legally. The Identity and Passport Service issues passports to British nationals living in the UK. The Criminal Records Bureau helps organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors verify whether job applicants are suitable to work with children or other vulnerable people by checking their criminal backgrounds.
The Home Office headquarters also contains the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, which works with other departments and agencies to ensure an effective and coordinated response to the threat of terrorism. The crime and policing group works through the police service and other partners.
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About Norton by Symantec
Symantec’s Norton products
protect consumers from cybercrime with technologies like
antivirus,
anti-spyware and internet security -- while also being light on system
resources. The company also provides services such as
online backup,
PC
tuneup, and family
online resources. Find Norton on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/norton and follow
@Norton_UK on
Twitter.
About Symantec
Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems
management solutions to help consumers and organisations secure and manage their
information-driven world. Its software and services protect against more risks
at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever
information is used or stored. More information is available at
www.symantec.com.
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About Royal Mail Group
We are the parent company of Royal Mail, Post Office® and Parcelforce Worldwide.
We are proud of our history, which shows the amazing impact of our business on the
lives of people in the UK and around the world. We have a great public service pedigree,
with centuries of innovation and industry making our business what it is today.
What makes us unique? We reach everyone in the UK through our trusted
mails, Post Office® and parcels businesses. We also employ almost 193,000 people
in the UK. That's almost 1% of the working population. Every working day we collect,
process and deliver around 82 million items to 27 million addresses at some of the
lowest prices in Europe. Each week we serve 28 million customers through our network
of some 14,300 Post Office® branches and deliver some 337 million parcels a year
through Parcelforce Worldwide and General Logistics Systems, our domestic and European
parcels businesses. With over 370 years of experience behind us, we may have the
infrastructure and know-how, but we also have to change to meet the challenges ahead.
Our vision is to be demonstrably the best and most trusted postal services company
in the world.
For more information on our products and services visit www.royalmail.com
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National Lead Force
In 2008 the City of London Police was named National Lead Force for fraud, with a remit to create a centre of excellence for fraud investigations and to use its expertise to help police forces across the UK.
As National Lead Force, its remit includes advising and assisting police services across the country with fraud investigations.
However, the force rarely acts alone in its fight against fraud. We continue to work closely with key counter fraud agencies and Government departments. These include the National Fraud Authority (NFA), Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Her Majesty‘s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority SRA). We have also forged strong partnerships with financial institutions and private sector interests such as UK Payments, the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and the Prevention of Fraud in Travel (PROFIT).
The growing influence of our role as National Lead Force for fraud and our responsibility in managing the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) will ensure the force remains at the forefront of the fight against fraud.
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Report fraud to Action Fraud
Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud reporting centre and the place for you to report fraud and scams, or to get advice if you’re not sure what to do.
If you’ve been a victim of fraud, you can report it to Action Fraud online using the secure online fraud reporting tool, or by calling 0300 123 2040. Visit Action Fraud’s website to find out more about reporting fraud. You’ll be given a crime reference number and your case will be referred on to the police force that investigates fraud.
Why contact Action Fraud?
Sometimes people choose not to report fraud because they are embarrassed that they fell for a scam.
Remember that fraud is a crime and that fraudsters will constantly reinvent themselves to find new ways of tricking people. Anyone could be a victim.
Some people also think that fraud is a victimless crime, or that it’s not as serious as other crimes. This is not true. Fraudsters are often part of serious organised criminal gangs, who use the money to fund other crimes such as human trafficking, illegal firearms trade and terrorism.
Fraudsters rely on silence. We can beat fraud if we talk.
Visit Action Fraud’s website for more information, including advice and information about fraud.
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