Four million Brits have suffered ID fraud with average losses of £1,200

Businesses and individuals have been warned that they could risk losing thousands of pounds due to identity theft after it was revealed that four million users have already been hit by identity-related fraud in the UK.

As part of the annual National Identify Fraud Prevention Week, which kicks off on Monday, records storage firm Fellowes commissioned research that found seven per cent of the UK population has fallen victim to ID fraud, at an average cost of £1,190 per person, rising as high as £9,000 in some cases.

The Metropolitan Police Service's fraud prevention unit, Operation Sterling, is leading the Met's involvement in the week-long awareness-raising event and warned users to limit the amount of information shared on social networking sites.

National fraud reporting and advice centre, Action Fraud, revealed that it had seen £245,000 worth of loss due to identity theft in September alone.

"The worrying part is that this figure was generated from a limited amount of reports, suggesting the amount lost to ID theft would be much higher if more people were reporting," said Action Fraud boss Jamey Johnson.

"It is important to report a loss to Action Fraud, but it is more important to protect yourself from it happening in the first place. Limiting access to your personal information is the key to safety from ID fraud. Remember, personal details are as valuable as cash to a fraudster."

Aside from offline precautions, such as shredding sensitive documents and checking unfamiliar transactions on bank statements, individuals and firms were urged to ensure they use strong passwords for online accounts, up-to-date security software and ignore suspicious links in unsolicited emails.