Living in today’s society requires an element of trust. It is in fact essential to survival, but there are many opportunities for the criminally minded to abuse this trust. On a recent visit to the local post office pick up point, another such opportunity was clearly visible.
Upon entering the pick up counter, a counter assistant was on hand to greet customers. Immediately behind the attendant stood a row of shelves filled with packages awaiting collection.
What was most startling is the fact that the labels were clearly visible and showed the addressee’s name and address details. Some of the packages displayed the sender’s logo and company name, so it was very easy to identify which company the package came from. While the average person may not think of using this information for fraudulent purposes, it still poses an identity fraud risk for the unsuspecting addressee.
How to Prevent Identity Fraud
Companies like Stop-IDFraud warn consumers about keeping their information safe and away from prying eyes. It is important to heed advice regarding shredding papers which contain personal details. The startling thing is that even after following this advice, criminals can still obtain personal details freely from the post office.
Based on the way packages are displayed, by viewing the sender’s details, thieves can identify the originator of the package. Remember, when shopping online, consumers will need to enter a significant amount of personal information. What is stopping the thief from getting hold of a phone number and calling the customer to confirm personal details about the online order?
Other sources of information are found on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. These sites are very popular and again the criminally minded can use it for information gathering purposes.
Identity Theft Protection
Thieves operate in a world that the average person can’t even begin to fathom, they probably have ways of accessing information that consumers would not even think about. What seems innocent to the unsuspecting eye could prove to be a jackpot for the unscrupulous mind.
Consumers should take the time to find out more about identity theft protection as an added measure.
On the next visit to the local UK post office pick up point, if the names and addresses or people displayed, why not write to the manager and ask for safer storage methods to be implemented. With so much information on display, there’s no telling who might be watching.
Sources:
(2008) Stop-IDFraud [Online] Available from Stop-IDFraud.co.uk/ [Accessed 21 June 2009]
