The free service is available all year round to Citi Cards customers through the Citiphone help and advice line, even if the identity theft occurs on another issuer’s card, bank account or loan.
The service is released as fraud prevention system Cifas reports that the personal cost of identity theft is at a high, saying that it can take up to 60 hours of work for a typical victim to reform their life and clear their name. Identity theft is also believed to be one of the fastest growing frauds in the UK, with a 45% annual increase in identity fraud in 2003 as reported by UK payments association Apacs.
Citi Cards said that users of the new service will be able to contact CitiPhone and receive advice on how to reinstate their good name and credit rating, file police reports and close accounts with other creditors. They will also receive the Citi Cards Identity Theft Tool Kit, which contains an advice leaflet, letter templates for writing to banks or card issuers to close down fraudulently opened accounts, guidance on how to dispute entries on credit reports and a template for logging conversations and other recovery actions.
Any fraudulent charges on Citi Cards customer accounts will be cleared and a new Citi card issued.
Tom Jones, head of Citi Cards UK, said the new service is in line with the company’s fraud prevention strategy, which spawned its Fraud Early Warning program in 1989 and the first installment of Citi Identity Theft Solutions in 2003.
He added that steps can be taken to prevent customers from becoming a victim of identity theft: It’s important to check your credit card and bank statements regularly, be vigilant about how you discard mail, and where you are keeping identity information such as bank statements and national insurance numbers. Finally, never write down your account information or PIN numbers on anything you carry, and destroy all receipts when you no longer need them.
