Consumer articles ~ Tsunami victims' identities are under threat from gangs

The Times, February 2005

Two months after the tsunami that devastated millions of lives, the relatives of British victims have been dealt another bitter blow. It has emerged that criminal gangs are trying to steal the identities of the dead to gain millions of pounds.

It is feared that by posting pictures of their lost relatives on message boards, websites and in newspapers, victims' families provided criminals with the means to gain access to large amounts of details about those Britons who died in the Indian Ocean two months ago.

So great is the concern that police are asking bereaved families to register their relatives' details with Cifas, Britain's anti-fraud service, to prevent criminals from impersonating them. Anyone using the name or parts of the identity of the tsunami victim to obtain money or services will immediately come under greater scrutiny and be asked to prove that they are who they claim to be.

Mark Jones, managing director of Conversant Data, a British fraud investigation company, said:

"Criminals pick up the name, age and home town of tsunami victims from television and other news sources, then make up a similar birthdate to find out more from the credit reference agencies, the victim's electoral roll or 'dumpster-diving' [searching dustbins] to get bank-account and credit-card numbers among other details.

"As many of the tsunami victims were reasonably well-off, the crooks know they are likely to have good credit records and thus make ideal fraud sources.

"They use the data they've picked up to make finance, credit-card, phone or insurance applications on the net or through the post. Although publishing the names, ages and approximate addresses of victims makes good newsworthy stuff for viewers and readers, it plays straight into the hands of the fraudsters."

A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard said that a number of measures had been put in place to prevent identity fraud among victims of the tsunami. "We have requested the consent of the next-of-kin of victims, or those thought to have been victims, to register their details with a number of agencies including the Department for Work and Pensions, DVLA, Passport Agency, Inland Revenue, banks and phone companies," she said.

"Additionally, we have sought consent to register the details of victims and the missing with Cifas. The service is used by more than 200 financial, mail order, retail credit and other organisations."

Anne Sheedy, the head of operations at Cifas, said that by registering tsunami victims' details, families "will stop fraudsters who have seen the deceased's details using that information to hijack an identity."

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