Increasing numbers of New Zealanders with an alias

The Rise of identity fraud - increasing numbers of New Zealanders with an alias

Media Release 29 March 2012

As New Zealanders are urged to be vigilant against identity crime, the country’s largest Bureau has released figures showing an increasing use of aliases.

Veda’s alias register now has nearly half a million names on it, with more than 1,000 new aliases loaded each month. This is a 50 percent increase in the last two years.

Veda Managing Director John Roberts says the figures speak for themselves.

“They show that while we like to think identity crime is a global problem that targets trusting New Zealanders, there are plenty of people here who are using multiple identities to execute fraud.”

Nearly seven percent of the 3.5 million individual credit records held by Veda show they have at least one alias.

Some multiple identities are legitimate – for example married women can legally use their single and married names. But aliases are widely used by identity fraudsters.

“What the data tells us is that people should be careful with checking names and if a person has more than one name they should ask questions,” Mr Roberts says.

Veda’s alias register shows some people with 30 aliases and hundreds with eight to ten different names they use.

The company’s data shows the number of people with one or more aliases who also have a default on their credit report has increased by 10 percent. A default can be recorded on a credit report when a person has failed to pay a bill after 30 days or more.

The same data shows a massive 21.7 percent increase in the number of people declared insolvent who also have alias names.

The Department of Internal Affairs estimates as many as 133,000 New Zealanders may be victims of identity fraud annually costing the economy as much as $209 million annually.

Mr Roberts says “while the internet is the playground for many identity fraudsters and scammers, we must also be vigilant in our day to day affairs as increasingly people use multiple names to obtain credit and make purchases.”

Veda uses advanced mathematical algorithms to detect people using multiple names.

ENDS

© Scoop Media