Issue 157
Waterfront Online
Identity Fraud at Freshers' Fayre
08th October 2007
Freshers' Fayre; a chance for everybody to sign up to their chosen societies, bag loads of free goodies and as it turns out - also a prime opportunity to commit identity fraud.
Many students signed up to the fake company 'Duplicitas' and gave away their name, date of birth, address, mobile phone number, e-mail address, and their National Insurance number.
Students also revealed their next of kin's details, so not only putting their own details at risk but also those of the person closest to them. They were also asked to write down their proposed username and password, which was most probably very similar to that used on their personal internet accounts.
Fortunately for the targeted students, this was all a hoax set up by welfare officer Nick Morgan to identify and publicise how easy it is for criminals to steal and use other people's identities.
Even questions such as 'Do you own an MP3 player' were asked to students. If answered yes then this may even leave them open to theft - especially if their address is also provided on the given form.
Initial sections on the form ask the targeted student to write down their interests along with their favourite music and films, which is a typical tool used to lull the target into a false sense of security.
It also allows the person to think more thoroughly about those questions, therefore reducing the amount of thought that may go into the latter questions such as 'proposed password' and 'National Insurance number'.
Waterfront Online