Australia facing fraud crisis, more accessible resources needed for victims of identity theft, IDCARE say.
In the last 12 months, over 1.2 million people have fallen victim to identity fraud, amounting in over 200 million dollars in lost assets. In the last eight years, fraud crimes have more than tripled.
Bar graph created by Stephanie Muscat on Infogr.am.
IDCARE is Australia’s only free helpline assisting victims of fraud. The company relies on industry contributions and Federal Government funding. The company is stationed in a demountable building, accommodating approximately 20 staff, some of which are volunteers. IDCARE is struggling to handle the skyrocketing demand for support, with the number of calls doubling every three months.
Founder David Lacey has been involved in cyber safety for over fifteen years, and believes there is a modern day cyber crisis. He likens cyber invasion to war, saying that there are plenty of “bullets and rifles at the moment, but in terms of the stretcher-bearers… we’re it for the community.”
IDCARE has found that it takes approximately 54 days for a victim to realise their personal information has been breached, and 48 hours for the criminal to begin misusing the information. Given this, there’s a massive opportunity for the criminal to exploit the person’s private information – a cause for concern for the average Australian.
Paul McDonald, an identity fraud victim, lost over $28,000 from his retirement fund after thieves infiltrated his email. They proceeded to orchestrate the transfer of $200,000 in shares, however, Mr McDonald’s wife Sandy caught wind of the unusual activity when she contacted their financial advisers. This prevented the total loss of their retirement fund.
The police redirected Mr McDonald to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) when he reported the theft, which proved to be of no help, only providing him with a tracking number confirming his case.
Mr McDonald recounts that IDCARE were the only resource available.
With identity theft tripling in the last eight years, and IDCARE being the only recovery service available in Australia, the demand for identity theft support simply isn’t there. Technology continues to evolve at an alarming rate, opening new possibilities for identity theft to occur. The implications of identity fraud are monumental. In the last twelve months alone, there has been a 300 million dollar accumulation in stolen assets in Australia.
Minimising identity fraud is not only the responsibility of the individual, however. Sue King, a primary school teacher, had her identity impersonated by someone who was able to successfully pass identity checks on the phone to Telstra. Through that, they began transferring money to external accounts and changing her email passwords, slowly but surely taking over her private credentials.
Catching wind of the irregularities in her email, phone and bank accounts, Ms King regained control of her private accounts and reported her case to the police. She lost a total of $3,800.
Telstra’s screening process at its most basic is providing a full name, date of birth and home address. These details are incredibly easy to obtain, meaning that fraudsters aren’t faced with complex roadblocks on their quest to commit identity theft. In addition, the maximum penalty for identity theft is 10 years, leaving opportunity for re-offending in future.
The predicament faced by companies who have a high level of engagement with consumers is that if security is amped up, the seamless customer experience is compromised.
So how does the average Australian ensure their identity is protected?
According to the Veda 2015 Cybercrime and Fraud Report, 44% of the population regularly change their online passwords, 45% lock their letterbox, 53% use a paper shredder, and 66% only use secure web pages when completing online transactions.
In addition, David Lacey also recommends having “the latest antivirus software” on all online devices in order to ensure maximum online protection.
