Consultation Launched on Combating Identity Fraud

13 December 2006

A joint consultation paper on proposals aimed at stopping fraudsters from using the identities of dead people has been issued today by the Registrars General for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Identity fraud, of which Impersonation of the Deceased (IOD) fraud is a type, costs the United Kingdom (UK) economy in excess of £1 billion a year.

Fraudsters can obtain sufficient information to impersonate the deceased before organisations with which the deceased had financial dealings become aware of the death.

Under the Police and Justice Act 2006 and the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006, the Registrars General can disclose death registration information to assist in the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of offences. The Registrars General are seeking views on how the information should be released.

Death registration information is in the public domain as soon as a death is registered, however it is not currently provided in a format that can be easily used to assist the police, other law enforcement bodies and public and private sector organisations to deal with offences and identify cases of attempted fraud by criminals using the personal details of the deceased.

The timely disclosure of death information in an electronic format will not only help to combat Impersonation of the Deceased fraud, but will also reduce the impact on relatives of the recently bereaved who have to deal with the consequences of the identity of their loved ones being stolen.

The consultation paper 'Disclosure of Death Registration Information' (306 Kb PDF) sets out proposals for the administration of the scheme, with the intention that it is in place for Summer 2007. Responses to the consultation paper are due by 6 March 2007. Contributions are invited from all interested individuals and organisations.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

1.1 Registrars General have statutory responsibility for the system under which births, deaths, adoptions, marriages and civil partnerships are registered. Civil registration has a vital role in securing and protecting basic human rights by providing a name and identity within society, a facility for marriage and civil partnership, evidence of parentage and evidence of entitlement to inheritance.

1.2 The three General Register Offices (GROs) are independent of each other, governed by separate legislation and accountable to different parts of government within the United Kingdom (UK). Nonetheless, the GROs have a common purpose, many similar processes and, within each jurisdiction, the local registration service is administered in partnership between the GRO and local government.

1.3 Since the introduction of civil registration in the mid 19^th century, society has changed dramatically. GROs across the UK are currently engaged in a programme of modernisation to enhance service delivery by investing in modern IT systems and, where an opportunity presents itself, bringing forward changes in legislation.

1.4 New legislation confers powers on the Registrars General to supply bulk information contained in any register of deaths to the police and other organisations in a timely manner for use only in the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of offences.

1.5 Identity fraud is widely recognised as a significant problem that can partly be addressed by wider sharing of information across government and the private sector. In particular, helping to address IOD fraud, a type of identity fraud, has become an important policy objective.

1.6 Criminals can commit IOD fraud by using the obituaries column of a local newspaper, or other means, to identify someone who has recently died and obtaining more information about the deceased to build up an identity. This identity is used to access existing bank, building society or credit accounts or to apply for new financial services in the name of the deceased.

1.7 Every death must be registered within five days or in the case of Scotland eight days. The Registrars General are required to provide an index of all the records they hold.

1.8 A Cabinet Office study in 2002 estimated that identity fraud, of which IOD fraud is a part, costs the UK £1.3bn per annum. Further work by the Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee published in 2006 indicated that the cost had increased to £1.7billion. CIFAS (the UK's Fraud Prevention Service) estimates that there were 70 000 instances of IOD fraud in 2004 and that the current rate of growth will see this reach 100 000 by 2007.

1.9 The majority of records in the custody of the Registrars General are accessible publicly as soon as an event is registered. However the traditional access frameworks of indexes and certified copies (certificates) of entries in registers do not fully meet the demand for the records. The Registrars General recognise that modern technology provides them with the ability to disclose information in an electronic format shortly after an event is registered.

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