There is a worrying difference between the approach people take for protection of their their online data security and physical documents, the Identity Fraud Communications Awareness Group (IFCAG) has cautioned.

According to CIFAS, there has been a 34 per cent rise in fraud relating to communications products such as smartphones and mobile broadband accounts over the first nine months of 2011.

"People probably don't quite get it when it comes to electronic information about themselves, as much as they have got it with the physical paper side," said Neil Munroe, chair of IFCAG.

"What people aren't [doing] – and this is common with new things like social media growing – is treating their information in the same way."

"Social media is a good example of that – what people are putting on Facebook and Myspace and other areas is quite useful information for fraudsters. A lot of people aren't locking it down in the sense that it's only available to people who you trust," he explained.

Article courtesy of Aviva PLC. Published 10-11-2011