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01 June 2006
Applicants for planning permission have been put at risk from identity theft by planning authorities, claims fraud prevention service Cifas.
Personal details about applicants have routinely been published on websites, giving fraudsters all the ammunition they need to steal an applicant's identity.
Planning applications containing details such as names, addresses, telephone numbers and even signatures have been posted on the internet, claims the service, particularly in cases of applications from householders, as larger schemes tend to publish details of an agent.
The service says that it is particularly worried about signatures being published.
"In combination with the other details, this is Christmas come early for identity fraudsters," said Cifas chief executive, Peter Hurst.
The service has been assured by local authority associations and government that the problem will be addressed, with measures including making applicants more aware that their details will be published online and confirming that there is no need to publish signatures.
In the first quarter of this year, cases of identity fraud rose by 17 per cent, said Cifas, with 137,000 cases of identity fraud in the UK last year.
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