This is the article I wrote for my DPS.

Identity theft isn’t a big deal; you go online you enter your details, you buy some bits and pieces, and you’re made up with your purchase. Someone else goes online, they buy some stuff and then buy more and more and more, they’re very happy with their purchases. However they’re using your details. Who cares, it’s only your identity, and it’s only A CRIME! Identity theft, like Chlamydia is on the up and if you’re not careful you could be a victim. Form a recent questionnaire that we carried out, results showed us that twenty percent of males and forty percent of females didn’t know how to protect themselves from identity theft. Also one hundred percent of males and eighty percent of females said they use the internet for shopping, meaning they are more at risk of identity fraud than people who don’t shop online. Shockingly sixty percent of sixteen to twenty-five year olds don’t use password protection. Are you one of these people? You’re more likely to use a condom then protect your personal information right?                      

There are many forms of identity theft, some you may not be aware of. They include card swiping, getting your post stolen, theft of your wallet or purse, using spyware over the internet and some thieves may even go through your bins to look for personal information. All of these things if you’re not careful could happen to you and you may not even realise it. Bet you can’t believe that 1.8 million people last year were affected by some form of identity theft, and there may be more as many people are unaware? Want that to be you? Identity theft is a malicious business and could not only affect you but your family too. Say you do happen to get your identity stolen by an ‘online conman’. Now that in its self it a major worry however this will not just be for the criminal’s personal use...

 Identity thieves are more often than not linked to organised criminal networks (scary thought I know) and they could be using your money to fund bigger and more dangerous scams such as human trafficking, illegal immigration, drug deals and terrorism. So by not protecting your details or destroying personal information you could be providing evil geniuses and criminal masterminds with the power to create things even more horrific than Jedward on speed. Think about it, spending a few extra minutes of your time on password protection/security is worth it when the consequences could be that bad. You’re not only protecting yourself, you’re protecting the country.

Now, if you’re still not getting the message and all you can think about is that awful pull you had last night here’s something that’ll make you shit a brick. When you think of identity theft you imagine getting your money stolen and maybe having to cancel your credit card. But imagine losing your job, getting arrested and being accused of paedophilia. That’s right, this actually happened to a man! An innocent man, and as grim as this topic may seem you should be scared because it could happen to you. Being an eager internet shopper perhaps like you, ‘Mr. X’ carelessly didn’t use any internet protection when buying or playing online, this ended up in his details getting stolen and unfortunately was arrested on suspicion of owning, downloading and selling indecent images of children over the internet. Long story short he now doesn’t talk to his family, is unemployed and well his life is pretty much ruined, however luckily the real criminal scum was found and jailed for a very long time.

But don’t panic just yet, there are many easy ways to stay safe and avoid life destruction. Firstly, think before you give away any personal details, is this website trustworthy? Sometimes it may be hard to tell, so if the website or company is not well known or you’re not too sure about it then it’s more than likely to ‘screw you over’. When it comes to your financial documents one way you can dispose of them is to shred or burn them, never just bin them as personal information can easily be taken this way. You can also install internet protection software, so if you’re lazy or just don’t know how to protect yourself, protection software does it for you. (Obviously check to make sure the protection itself isn’t a scam). Finally the easiest and most important thing to do is simply keep your wallet safe, and don’t be handing out your ID to anyone, particularly someone underage; you don’t know what they’re going to do with it. This is the easiest way for people to get hold of your identity, simply by picking your pocket. So remember think before you ‘do’, (this top tip can be applied to more than just identity theft, if you know what I mean).