With ID theft now increasingly making media headlines, particularly thanks to lost computer disks, it is perhaps surprising that so many people are still carelessly giving criminals a helping hand. Dustbins, bars and social-networking websites are all proving valuable hunting grounds for criminal gangs.

One in four people in the UK claim to know someone who has had their identity stolen and with official Home Office figures putting the total loss from identity theft at £1.7 billion a year, it is clearly a considerable problem. But John Newton, enterprise risk manager, Coutts says its not just the government which needs to tighten up.

Facebook, the social website which has become a networking phenomenon in the last year, has inadvertently created an Aladdin's Cave of information for financial criminals. A survey by the government at the end of 2007 revealed that one quarter of the sites' 11 million UK users had enough information on their page to enable a criminal to steal their identity.

Newton explains: "Social Networking in the virtual world has never been as popular as it is now, with many of us having our own MySpace or Facebook identities in the name of self promotion or harmless fun. This mantle is being taken up by our children, some as young as ten years old, who use Bebo to converse initially with friends and peers, but very quickly to complete strangers.

"So whilst we might castigate under fire government ministers for apparent incompetence, it is all too easy to over look the fact that we are all wholly responsible for ensuring in so far as we can that our identity is always kept secure."

"Whilst we might castigate under fire government ministers for apparent incompetence, it is all too easy to over look the fact that we are all wholly responsible for ensuring in so far as we can that our identity is always kept secure." John Newton, enterprise risk manager, Coutts

Anyone who uses such sites should avoid including information about their address, date of birth, first school, first pet, and mother's maiden name on their page. All give criminals a helping hand by supplying them with the answers to standard account security questions.

However is it not just in cyber space that people are giving criminals a helping hand. A Metropolitan Police-backed experiment which looked through the bins of 120 households in Wandsworth, London, found documents containing bank account numbers and sort codes had been thrown away by 46% of those whose rubbish was searched. More worrying was that fact that almost three quarters of the households bins raided, contained either a signature or discarded credit or debit card.

What the Wandsworth experiment proves is that it makes sense for criminals to target affluent areas. Why bother randomly picking wallets for credit cards which might only have a modest credit limit, when on bin day you could walk down any street in Chelsea or Mayfair and pick up a veritable jackpot of financial information from people who will undoubtedly have some of the highest credit limits in the country.

There is a simple solution to bin raiding. Take an interest in what you throw away. Do not put unshredded bank, credit card or personal information in the bin. This includes anything with your address, such as junk mail.

It likewise makes sense for criminal gangs to target bars, restaurants and petrol stations in affluent neighbourhoods. A single dishonest employee, armed with a swipe-through cloning device can gather a lot of information. Chip & PIN was suppose to put an end to this type of card theft; what has actually happened however is that it has merely shifted such theft overseas, to countries that do not have chips in their bank and credit cards.

This of course presents an added problem for those who travel frequently, for work or pleasure, as fraud detection systems, designed to prevent card transactions being made overseas are not really suitable. Who after all wants the embarrassment of having their card rejected when checking out of their hotel?

"Chip & PIN was suppose to put an end to this type of card theft; what has actually happened however is that it has merely shifted such theft overseas, to countries that do not have chips in their bank and credit cards."

For this reason it can make sense to keep all overseas spending on one card, making it far easier to check when the statement arrives. The same principle should be applied to shopping online.

Unfortunately, it is not just faceless organised gangs that you have to worry about. Two recent high profile cases highlight the growing trend for ID theft by friends, family and neighbours. Last year a Scot's woman was jailed after being found guilty wracking up £250,000 of debt after stealing her sister's identity.

And more recently two well educated twenty-somethings, travelled round the world in style after stealing hijacking the identities of fellow residents in their upmarket-Philadelphia apartment block.

Commenting on the arrest of Jocelyn Kirsch and Edward Andert, detective Terry Sweeny said: "They were like a parasite that infected that building. They were two young people that were given many gifts in life. And the very best thing they could do was victimise other people."

While is highly unlikely that identity theft can be eradicated 100%, some simple steps can hinder the efforts of criminals. Consumer association, Which, advises never using date of birth or a mother's maiden name as security passwords or answers to security questions. Security experts recommend using a mix of letters and numbers in all passwords (the numbers should be mixed in with the letters, not simply lumped on the end).

On top of this is sensible to contact your bank or credit card company if a regular statement fails to turn up, when it should. Finally check your credit record at least once a year, to make sure there are no accounts or credit arrangements on it, you did not take out.

If you are a Coutts client, you can now register with PrivacyGuard™ - a proactive identity fraud prevention service offered by Affinion International Limited. Once registered with them, you will receive:

• A personal credit report - so that you can identify any incorrect information and see if someone else has been using your name to gain credit.
• Credit alert - a monthly monitoring service enabling you to identify any incorrect information and see whether anyone is using your name.
• Identity fraud insurance - up to £10,000 cover against loss protection, professional assistance and expenses, such as notifying creditors and organising paperwork.

PrivacyGuard™ membership is available for just £79.99 a year and, as a Coutts client, you will enjoy 30-days' free trial. For further information click here >>

By Lindsey Rogerson