Identity theft is the UK's fastest growing crime. This section tells you exactly what to do if you have been a victim, and guides you through the process of restoring your identity. You can use our smart Rapidocs documents to prepare all the necessary paperwork to prove you had nothing to do with the fraudulent transactions and fix your credit rating.

It can happen to anyone. You receive a letter from a collection agency demanding that you pay past due accounts for a large mobile phone bill. The bank refuses your loan because of your history of bad payments. But you have always paid bills on time. What has happened?

You have become another victim of identity theft, UK's fastest growing crime. This occurs when someone has stolen your personal information and used it to impersonate you. It often takes many months before its devastating effects become apparent, often coming at a time when you most need a good credit rating, such as taking out a new mortgage or loan. The effects of an identity theft can have a devastating effect on your life in the following circumstances:

• Credit - you may be refused credit cards or loans if someone is running up bad credit in your name
• Employment - potential employers often run a credit check as part of their new employee referencing policy
• Housing - it may be hard to secure a tenancy in rented accommodation if you have a low credit score
• Mortgage - mortgage lenders may not offer you a mortgage if you have a poor credit rating

Fortunately, you now have a number of options to solve and even prevent your problems.

Identity crime is a generic term for identity theft, creating a false identity or committing identity fraud.

The 2002 Cabinet Office Study , which covered the use of false identities and the theft of other people's identities, estimated that crime facilitated by identity fraud cost the UK £3 billion per annum.

The Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee has completed a one-off exercise to update the Cabinet Office estimate for the purpose of establishing trends in the cost of identity fraud over the past three years. The latest estimate is that identity fraud costs the UK economy £1.7 billion. As with the previous study, it represents a best estimate of the scale of the problem.

It is estimated that 120,000 people are affected by identity theft in the UK each year.

(Source: CIFAS The UK's Fraud Prevention Service. Figure is based on the number of cases of identity and impersonation fraud in 2004.)

Criminals commit identity theft by stealing your personal information and then pretending to be you. This is often done by taking documents from your rubbish or by making contact with you and pretending to be from a legitimate organisation.

Once a criminal has the information he or she needs, he or she could for example:

• apply for a credit card in your name;
• open a bank or building society account in your name;
• run up debts (e.g. use your credit/debit card details to make a purchase) or obtain a loan in your name;
• apply for any benefits in your name (e.g. housing benefit, new tax credits, income support, job seeker's allowance, child benefit);
• apply for a driving licence in your name;
• register a vehicle in your name;
• apply for a passport in your name;
• apply for a mobile phone contract in your name.

If you have been a victim of identity fraud and your card is still in your possession, you should not have to pay for anything bought on it without your permission (subject to the terms and conditions of your account). If your card has been lost or stolen, you will usually not have to pay, unless it can be shown that you have acted fraudulently or without reasonable care, for example by keeping your PIN number written down with your card. The same applies to any money lost through fraudulent bank transactions.