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How to protect yourself from identity theft

Your email, your post and your paperwork are the easy ways in for identity thieves. A few habits protect all three, and here is who to call if it happens.

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  1. 1. Lock down your email first
  2. 2. Check your credit file with all three agencies
  3. 3. Protect your post
  4. 4. Shred your paperwork
  5. 5. Opt out of the open register
  6. 6. Don't hand details to people who contact you
  7. Cifas Protective Registration
  8. What to do if it happens

The habits that matter most: protect your email with a strong, unique password and 2-step verification; check your credit file with all three credit reference agencies; redirect your post when you move; shred anything with your details on; and never confirm personal details to someone who contacted you out of the blue.

Identity fraud is when someone uses your stolen details to commit crime, such as taking out a loan or buying goods in your name. Police.uk notes that many victims never find out how their details were taken, and that clearing things up afterwards can be costly and stressful. Prevention is much easier.

1. Lock down your email first

Your email account is the key to everything else. Whoever controls it can reset the passwords on your bank, shopping and social media accounts.

  1. Give your email a strong password you use nowhere else. Our guide to creating a strong password shows a simple method.
  2. Turn on 2-step verification, so a stolen password alone isn't enough to get in. See what two-factor authentication is for how to set it up.
  3. Use a password manager if remembering lots of passwords is the problem. Our guide on whether password managers are safe covers the pros and cons.

Run our Password Check to see how your current password habits stack up.

2. Check your credit file with all three agencies

The UK has three main credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Which? says you have the legal right to check your report for free with all three. Lenders use different agencies, so a loan taken out in your name might only show on one of them.

  • Experian offers a free statutory credit report and a free account with ongoing access to your report.
  • Equifax says you are entitled to a free statutory credit report for life, online through its free Equifax Basic account or by post.
  • TransUnion also offers a free statutory credit report.

What to look for:

  • accounts, loans or credit cards you didn't open
  • credit searches from lenders you haven't applied to
  • addresses you have never lived at

If something looks wrong, contact the agency and the lender named on the entry.

3. Protect your post

Stolen post gives criminals names, addresses, account numbers and sometimes new cards.

  • Redirect your post when you move. Royal Mail's Redirection service sends your mail to your new address for 3, 6 or 12 months. It is paid, from £45 at the time of writing, with lower concession prices if you receive Universal Credit or Pension Credit. Royal Mail says it helps reduce the risk of ID fraud.
  • Tell your bank and card providers your new address as soon as you move.
  • Chase missing statements. Police.uk advises contacting your bank if a statement doesn't arrive when you expect it.
  • Find out why if you start getting post for someone you don't know at your address.
  • Take care in shared hallways. Police.uk advises protecting mail left in communal areas.

4. Shred your paperwork

Police.uk advises disposing of anything with your personal or banking details using a cross-cut shredder, or tearing it into small pieces. That covers things like bank statements and bills, not just the obvious ones.

5. Opt out of the open register

The electoral register comes in two versions. The open register can be bought by anyone, and the ICO says its users include direct marketing firms and online directory firms. You can ask your local electoral registration office to remove you from it at any time, and the choice carries forward each year.

Opting out doesn't affect your right to vote, and it doesn't stop credit checks. Lenders' credit checks use the full register, which can only be used for limited purposes such as checking credit applications.

Our guide to removing your personal information from Google covers how to get your details off directory websites.

6. Don't hand details to people who contact you

Police.uk advises being extremely wary of unsolicited calls, letters or emails claiming to be from your bank and asking you to confirm personal details, passwords or security numbers. Hang up and call the number on the back of your card instead. Our guides on spotting scam texts and scam emails show the common tricks.

Cifas Protective Registration

Cifas, the UK's fraud prevention service, offers Protective Registration. It places a warning flag against your name and details in the Cifas National Fraud Database, so organisations that use it carry out extra checks when someone applies for something in your name.

  • It is paid: £30 for two years (price on cifas.org.uk, checked 22 September 2026).
  • Apply online only. Cifas doesn't take applications by phone.
  • It doesn't affect your credit score and isn't insurance against losses.
  • Genuine applications can take slightly longer while the checks are done.
  • It lasts 24 months and doesn't renew automatically.

Cifas says it is meant for people whose identity is at heightened risk, for example if your personal details have been stolen or an organisation you deal with has leaked them. It is not something most people need all the time.

What to do if it happens

If you think someone is using your identity, act quickly. Start with the organisation where the fraud happened, then report it.

  1. Contact the organisation involved. Cifas advises getting in touch with the bank, card company or retailer where the account was opened or used, and telling them what happened.
  2. Report it to Report Fraud, the national reporting service that replaced Action Fraud, at reportfraud.police.uk (opens in a new tab) or on 0300 123 2040. This covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, contact Police Scotland on 101.
  3. Call your own bank on the number on the back of your card, or dial 159, if any of your accounts have been touched.
  4. Check your credit file with all three agencies and ask them to correct any entries that aren't yours.
  5. Change your email password and turn on 2-step verification if you haven't already.
  6. Consider Protective Registration while the risk is high.

Cifas explains that if you see Victim of Impersonation on your credit report, an organisation has added it to protect you. It tells lenders to take extra care before approving applications in your name, and it stays in place for 13 months. If you didn't know about it and no letter arrives within about a week, contact the organisation that added it.

Victim Support offers free, confidential support to victims of fraud in England and Wales.

Sources

Last checked: 22 September 2026