Do you regularly check your bank account for unrecognised transactions? By not checking your statements is a useful way of spotting whether you have been a victim of identity fraud. Read more about tell-tell signs your identity has been stolen and how to reduce your chances of falling victim to ID theft.

1. UK Unaccounted
Transactions
A CPP white paper
April 2009

2. Contents
1.1 Foreword
1. Industry Facts
1.3 Research methodology
1.4 Key Findings
- Consumers do not monitor their bank accounts enough
- Many consumers cannot identify transactions on their bank accounts
- Some consumers are not bothered by transactions they cannot identify
- The average value of an unrecognised transaction is £15.38
- Forgetfulness, fraud and mistakes are attributed to unidentified transactions
- A third of consumers said they had been a victim of fraud
- The majority of consumers think fraud will get worse in the current recession
1.5 Conclusion
1.6 Avoiding Identity Fraud
1.7 Further Information
1.8 About CPP
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

3. Introduction 3
1.1 Foreword
Since identity fraud came to the
attention of the industry and general
public early in 2003, it has
consistently generated newspaper
headlines. We have read how
consumers’ identities have been
stolen and used to obtain goods and
services from creditors without their
knowledge or consent.
At CPP we have seen some horrendous cases where our policyholders have had their bank
accounts high-jacked or new accounts opened in their name including loans, mobile phone
contracts and even mortgages. We have had situations where customers have had debts
for up to £500,000 taken out in their name and have been at risk of having their own home
repossessed until CPP’s caseworkers got involved.
Today, identity fraud is as prevalent as ever, with more people falling victim to this insidious
crime. The Government and industry approach has been to create organisations like the
Today, National Fraud Identity Prevention Week, the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit, the
Fraud Intelligence Sharing system and the Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee
identity to raise awareness of the issue and suggest initiatives to tackle the problem. In addition,
2009 will see the creation of the National Fraud Reporting Centre where the public will be
fraud is as able to report online fraud directly instead of through their local police force or bank.
Fraudsters are not immune to the current recession and the way identity fraud takes place
prevalent has evolved over the last 12 months – this will be discussed later on in this report.
as ever
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

4. 4
1. Industry Facts
- 16 per cent growth of fraud throughout 2008 affecting over 214,000 consumers
- Sharp increase in facility takeover (also known as account takeover for the purpose
of withdrawing funds) fraud – up 207 per cent affecting 19,275 consumers
There is no - 69 per cent increase in misuse of facility to 39,447 – where fraudsters siphon
off the proceeds of fraudulent transactions i.e. paying in false or altered
doubt that cheques or the receipt of fraudulently obtained benefits
- Increase in the number of successful identity frauds (identity frauds spotted
identity fraud after the granting of an account, card or policy) with CIFAS members recording
a 5.7% increase to 34,011
continues to - The number of victims of impersonation for the purpose of identity fraud fell 3.7
per cent to 62,658 (the scarcity of credit currently being offered means fraudsters
be a problem are attempting to create creditworthy fake identities - explaining the 5.7% rise in
successful identity frauds - rather than impersonating genuine people who may
and one that still have applications rejected by lenders. This explains the decrease in the
number of victims recorded, as fake identities do not include victims).
is expected - The number of Protective Registrations – the service offered to individuals to
help protect those whose identity is at risk due to crime or loss of data –
to get worse increased by 49 per cent to 49,061
Source: CIFAS – the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service
- Separately APACS – the UK’s Payments Association reported UK card fraud
losses totalled £609.9m in 2008 up 14 per cent on 2007. In addition, APACS
has reported card ID theft losses up 39% to £47.4m
- CPP’s own management information reports a huge rise in account takeover
which now affects over half (51%) of all identity fraud cases reported and resolved
- CPP’s identity fraud helpline regularly receives over 40,000 calls from
policyholders concerned their personal information has been compromised
There is no doubt that identity fraud continues to be a problem and one that is expected to
get worse over the coming months as the recession continues to affect the economy. We
expect the rise in account takeover to continue as fraudsters adapt their methods in
response to changes in the financial markets.
The growth in protective registrations via CIFAS underlines the increase in fraudulent
activity, but positively demonstrates the increasing awareness that businesses and the
general public share about the threat of identity fraud and their need to proactively take a
stance against it.
Consumer educations must remain at the vanguard of efforts to combat identity fraud.
Today, fraudsters are employing more and ever-sophisticated attacks to steal consumers’
personal information and use it to defraud creditors. Every day another story breaks about
the increase in phishing attempts, use of malware, scareware, skimming, cloning, social
engineering, and frequency of data breaches and loss of personal information – all of
which contribute to the rise in identity fraud and payment fraud. In 2008 alone the
Information Commissioner’s office reported over 179 data breaches in the public sector
and 80 from the private sector.
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

5. 5
1.3 Research Methodology
CPP commissioned research in March 2009 where participants were asked to review their
bank statements from the previous twelve months highlighting any transactions which
they could not recognise. The aim was to understand whether consumer behaviour was
making life easier for fraudsters and whether consumers were sensibly managing their
financial affairs.
A representative sample of 1,577 UK credit and debit card holders aged 18+ were
questioned by Tickbox.net/Opinion Matters.
The report also draws on figures from CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service and
APACS, the UK’s Payment Association.
1.4 Key Findings
Consumers do not monitor their bank accounts enough
26 per cent of the population check their bank statements at least once a month, however, 7
per cent only check it once every three months and 8 per cent do not check their bank
statements or check them thoroughly. This type of behaviour naturally puts them at risk of
identity fraud. Only 17 per cent of consumers monitor their accounts on a weekly basis.
Separately in three focus groups conducted by Dubit Limited on behalf of CPP, 81 per cent of
consumers only skim through their statements and don’t check them in detail.
Q: How often do you thoroughly check you bank statements?
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

6. 6
A third of consumers cannot identify transactions on their bank accounts
Whilst 68 per cent of consumers claim to identify all transactions on their bank accounts,
32 per cent cannot identify all transactions on their monthly statements. In addition 8 per
cent of consumers cannot identify more than 20 per cent of their monthly transactions.
Separately in the Dubit focus groups, 57 per cent of consumers reported banking
transactions they did not recognise.
Q: If you were honest with yourself, approximately how many transactions do you think you would not be
able to identify in an average one month period?
32% cannot
identify all
transactions
on their
monthly
statements
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

7. 7
A fifth of consumers are not bothered by transactions they cannot identify
22 per cent of consumers are not concerned about transactions they cannot identify on
their bank statements and a further 19 percent are concerned or not concerned. Women
are much more likely to be extremely concerned by unidentified bank transactions (21%
verses 11% for men).
Q: On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being extremely and 5 being not all all), how concerned are you about the
transactions you cannot identify on your bank statements? (by gender)
The average value of an unrecognised transaction is £15.38
38 percent of consumers claim they cannot identify transactions on their bank account
between the value of £6 and £10. Whilst 16-24 are most likely (52%) to be unable to
identify transactions between £6 and £10, those aged 45-54 are most likely (15%) to be
unable to identify transactions between £21 and £30. While these figures may not look too
serious, the average number of unidentified transactions per month is 1.3.
If we multiple 1.3 by the average value of unidentified transactions £15.38 we get a value
of £20.46 per month of expenditure that consumers cannot account for on their
statements. Over the year this amounts to £245.36 per person of unidentified transactions
on bank accounts.
Today, fraudsters who have bought personal information or bank account details illegally
have a habit of testing the data to check whether the card is active and live. This frequently
pre-empts a much larger withdrawall usually to purchase goods or services online.
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

8. 8
It is equally worrying nearly half of consumers (49%) that cannot identify all their
transactions, say they would not investigate an unidentifiable transaction below the value
of £21. Worst still, 15 per cent of consumers would not investigate unidentified
transactions below the value of £50.
In marked contrast in the Dubit focus groups, consumers saw an average of four transactions
they did not recognised. When asked why they didn’t recognise the transactions i.e. how they
realised it was fraud, this was mainly because these transaction occurred in places where they
had not visited and at odd times of the day, for example: “Because they were made at a
Tesco in Liverpool... at three in the morning.” The average value of unrecognised
transactions per month from the focus groups was much higher at £76.03.
Q: What do you think is the average transaction value that you can’t identify on your monthly statement?
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

9. Forgetfulness, fraud and mistakes attributed to unidentified transactions
When asked to explain the unidentified transactions, nearly a third (28%) of consumers
attributed the transactions to fraud and nearly half (47%) due to the trading name
appearing different than the registered company name. A third of consumers put it down
to a mistake by their bank. The results were generally consistent across gender.
Q: When seeing unidentified transactions on your statement, which of the following do you think
could be a reason for being unable to identify? (by gender)
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

10. 10
A third of consumers said they had been a victim of fraud
28 per cent of consumers said they had been a victim of fraud in the past. Men were
slightly more likely to have been a victim (men 30% verses 27% women). Demographically,
all groups were consistent with 45-54 peaking at 30% claiming to have been a victim of
fraud. Surprisingly, 23% of 16-24 claimed to have been a victim of fraud despite relatively
few years with a credit history.
According to the Dubit focus groups, 33 per cent claimed to have been a victim of fraud in
the past with an additional 13 per cent saying their bank had intervened and stopped
fraudulent activity occurring.
When questioned by Dubit the focus group respondents said they were responsible for
preventing identity theft (53%) with 40% thinking it was the joint responsibility of both
bank and consumer.
Q: Have you ever been a victim of fraud? (by age)
Surprisingly,
23% of
16-24 year
olds claimed
to have been
a victim of
fraud despite
relatively few
years with a
credit history
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

11. 11
The majority of consumers think fraud will get worst in the current recession
70% of consumers think fraud will get worse in the current recession as people turn to
desperate measures and fraudsters change their tactics. Interestingly there is only 1 per
cent variance between men and women, but the older demographic 55+ are eight points
more likely to think fraud will worsen than consumers aged 16-24.
Elsewhere 64 per cent of the Dubit focus groups thought the recession would make fraud
worse.
Given most consumers believe fraud will get worse in a recession, it is surprising that
some consumers would not investigate transactions they could not identify and only 28%
of consumers check their banks statements once a month with a minority not checking
them at all or thoroughly.
It is clear that consumer behaviour is currently not consistent with their heightened
perception of risk.
Q: Do you think that card fraud will increase this year due to the recession? (by age)
70% of
consumers
think fraud
will get
worse in the
current
recession
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

12. 1
1.5 Conclusion
It is clear from this report that consumer behaviour needs to change even further to
protect themselves from identity fraud. External data shows fraudsters are becoming more
sophisticated in stealing personal data and now use a number of tools to mine, hack,
solicit and steal this information. The days when consumers were led to believe organised
criminals were digging through rubbish bins is long past. Shreading, whilst a sensible
precaution, should only be considered a small part of the prevention process as the picture
is now far more complex.
What this report highlights is that a significant minority of consumers are still not doing
enough to monitor their financial status. With a third of consumers unable to identify
transactions listed on their bank accounts, a fifth unconcerned by transactions they cannot
identify and many not motivated to investigate transactions they cannot identify, we have a
situation that favours the fraudster. More proactive monitoring is required through regular
credit alerts and the use of fraud prevention tools like Protective Registration. Despite a
third of consumer saying they have been a victim of fraud in the past, and the majority
believing fraud will get worse in the current recession, we still do not have behaviour
consistent with protecting identities and finances.
Although some of the unidentified transactions outlined in this paper are small, fraudsters
do benefit from complacent attitudes to card and personal information security and it is
not uncommon for fraudsters to make small transactions of a few pounds to ‘test the
water’ before going on to make a much larger purchase. This, in itself, should make
Consumer consumers think twice before they file or shred their statements without checking them
properly. With the growth of fraud abroad on UK-issued cards, up 11 per cent to £230.1m,
behaviour it is even more important we regularly, and thoroughly, check our finances not only to stay
on-top of our finances, but to ensure the early detection of fraud.
needs to
change even
further to
protect
themselves
from identity
fraud
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

13. 13
1.6 Avoiding Identity Fraud
Michael Lynch is an identity fraud expert at CPP and offers the following advice to
consumers to help protect them from identity fraud. Michael is responsible for the UK
Identity Protection portfolio at CPP Group Plc (CPP).
Don’t write
Michael has been with the CPP for 14 years. His experience in financial services extends to
customer service, new product and market development and affinity relationships.
down PIN During his time at CPP, Michael has helped bring to market the UK’s market leading
service, Identity Protection, which now protects over one million UK consumers from the
numbers,
consequences of this rapidly growing crime. In addition, Michael has used his expertise to
create a commercial identity theft product aimed at protecting businesses of all sizes. He
has also developed a strong understanding of consumer perception and reaction to
passwords, identity theft and its consequences. Michael has also been responsible for breaking some
major identity theft stories in the media including the availability of fraudulent documents
user names online, car cloning, junk mail and postal theft. Committed to forging industry co-operation
to reduce the opportunities for identity theft he is leading the call for consumers to change
unless you their behaviour to counter what is becoming an increasingly sophisticated and intrusive crime.
Michael is media-trained across print and broadcast and is available for media interviews
absolutely on the issue of identity fraud.
have to do so Tell-tell signs your identity has been stolen
- Accounts on your credit report that don’t belong to you
- Welcome letters from credit card/loan companies that you never opened
- Calls from debt collection agencies chasing you for money that you never
borrowed
- Important post gone missing
- Refused credit
- Entries on your bank statements that you don’t recognise
Reduce the chances of falling victim to identity fraud:
- Make sure your post is secure and know when to expect your credit card, utility
bills and bank statements - if they don’t turn up, ring up and ask why
- Keep your personal information safe. If someone asks for your personal details
ask yourself why they would need them. This even applies to any online enquiries
- Don’t write down PIN numbers, passwords, user names unless you absolutely
have to do so, and if you do, keep them very secure and to yourself
- If you are going to throw away post with your personal details, shred it first -
this even includes junk mail
- If you move house tell your bank, credit card and utility providers. Use the
Royal Mail redirection service and consider registering with the mail preference
service to prevent mail going to your old address
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

14. 14
- If you store valuable documents at home, for example, passports, driving
licence and bank statements, keep them hidden and secure. Never take these
documents out with you unless you absolutely have to. If you store personal
information on your PC, install up-to-date security software
- Sign up to Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode as it will largely put a
stop to lots of unauthorised online spending
- When making purchases, don’t let staff take your debit/credit card out of sight,
even for a second
- Check your receipts against your statements when you get home
- Only use a secure web browser and keep it set to the highest security
- Install the latest online web security software on your computer
- Avoid carrying out transactions on public or shared computers
- When making an online shopping transaction, make sure the padlock appears
on the web page guaranteeing your details are kept secure or the HTTPS
- Avoid sites that sore your personal details
1.7 For further information please contact:
Nick Jones
PR and Communications Manager
CPP Group Plc
Holgate Park
York YO26 4GA
Tel 0104 544 387
Avoid E-Mail
Web
nick.jones@cpp.co.uk
www.cppgroup.com
carrying out
transactions
on public
or shared
computers
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009

15. 15
CPP is an award 1.8 About CPP
winning organisation:
The CPP Group Plc (CPP) is an international marketing services business offering bespoke
- Named in the
customer management solutions to multi-sector business partners designed to enhance
Sunday Times 008
PricewaterhouseCoopers
their customer revenue, engagement and loyalty, whilst at the same time reducing cost to
Profit Track 100 deliver improved profitability.
- Finalists in the National This is underpinned by the delivery of a portfolio of complementary Life Assistance
Business Awards, 3i Growth products, designed to help our mutual customers cope with the anxieties associated with
Strategy category, 008 the challenges and opportunities of everyday life.
- Finalist in the National Whether our customers have lost their wallets, been a victim of identity fraud or looking
Business Awards, Business for lifestyle perks, CPP can help remove the hassle from their lives leaving them free to
of the Year category, 007
enjoy life. Globally, our Life Assistance products and services are designed to simplify the
and Highly Commended
in 008
complexities of everyday living whether these affect personal finances, home, travel,
personal data or future plans. When it really matters, Life Assistance enables people to live
- Named in the Sunday Times life and worry less.
006, 007 and 008 HSBC
Top Track 50 companies Established in 1980, CPP has 11 million customers and more than 200 business partners
across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific and employs 2,000 employees who handle
- Regional winner of the
National Training Awards,
16 million consumer sales and service conversations each year.
007 In 2008, Group revenue was £259.5 million, an increase of more than 15 per cent over the
- Winner of the BITC Health, previous year. This is more than five times the sales level of 2000.
Work and Well-Being
Award, 007 What We Do:
- Highly Commended in the CPP provides a range of assistance products and services that allow our business partners
UK National Customer to forge closer relationships with their customers.
Service Awards, 006
We have a solution for many eventualities, including:
- Winner of the Tamworth
Community Involvement - Insuring our customers’ mobile phones
Award, 006. Finalist in
- Protecting the payment cards in our customers’ wallets and purses, should
008
these be lost or stolen
- Highly Commended in The
Press Best Link Between - Providing assistance and protection if a customer’s keys are lost or stolen
Business and Education, 005
- Providing advice, insurance and assistance to protect customers against the
and 006. Winner in 007
insidious crime of identity fraud
- Award Finalist in the
National Business Awards, - Offering advice to people considering legal action and cover for the costs
Innovation category, 005 involved in taking action on a range of legal issues
- Award finalist for the 003 - Providing discounts on everyday lifestyle commodities
The Royal Bank of Scotland
Sunday Times Business - Monitoring the credit status of our customers
Awards
- Recognised as one of the
Growth Plus Europe 500 For more information on CPP visit:
www.cppgroup.com
companies
UK Unaccounted Transactions April 2009