"Stop taking chances with your ID" says Rochdale MP

Paul Rowen has urged Rochdale people not to hand their identity over on a plate to fraudsters. The Rochdale MP was speaking at the start of the fourth annual National Identity Fraud Prevention Week. The week plans to raise awareness of the dangers of identity fraud and inform local people and businesses of the steps they could and should be taking to protect themselves from identity fraud.

Government figures show that identity fraud costs the economy more than £1billion annually - and independent pan-European market research, commissioned by Fellows for National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, reveals that Britain suffers one of the region's highest rates of identity fraud. The survey revealed that 4.3million adults have already fallen victim.

Thanks to ongoing public awareness drives, such as National Identity Fraud Prevention Week, the UK boasts the highest awareness rates - 99% of adults surveyed claimed to be aware of identity fraud and 95% realise that everyone is at risk.

However, 64% of British adults do not understand how best they can protect themselves against identity fraud, indicating that yet more needs to be done to communicate best practice in the home and work environment and encourage the public to take this advice - protecting themselves and lessening the impact of identity fraud upon the economy.

Paul Rowen has given his support to this year's National Identity Fraud Prevention Week. He said: "I firmly support the work of all the partners who have come together to raise awareness of the very real problem of identify fraud both in Greater Manchester and across the UK. I often hear about cases of ID fraud in Rochdale at my advice surgeries and there really are simply steps people can take to avoid being a victim.

"I join with other MPs and National Identity Fraud Prevention Week in encouraging individuals and business in Rochdale to stop taking chances with their identity, and to start getting identity fraud wise. You wouldn't leave your car or house unlocked - in the same way we all have a responsibility to protect our personal details. This is an ideal week to evaluate yourself and keep all your personal and confidential documents secure. Starting this week, I am asking people to keep a keen aye on any bank and credit card statements for any unusual transactions. Once you have done this you should shred these documents or keep them in a secure file. Don't just bin them!

"If you're planning to be away from home, you'll want to make sure you don't leave any obvious clues, like a pile of mail on your doormat. Sorting this out is easy and you'll be able to get information on this from your local Post Office. The Royal Mail can hold onto your mail for months and then deliver it when you return."

The awareness drive has been put in place by an expert group of public and private sector partners, and is being supported by Paul Rowen MP, the BBC TV presenter Adrian Chiles (who is fronting this year's campaign), the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Metropolitan Police, the Home Office's Identity and Passport Service, Royal Mail, CIFAS - The UK's Fraud Prevention Service, Fellowes, CallCredit, Equifax, Experian, the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Retail Consortium, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), and regional police forces.