Credit fraud has always existed to some degree, but with the advent of the internet, there has been an unprecedented level of awareness and consumer concern about falling victim to identity theft. Almost every day ?phishing? emails ? which pretend to come from banks - try to extract passwords and personal details from consumers.

Most people know that an unprotected PC can be disabled by viruses and Trojans within hours and install antivirus software to protect it, but not everyone remembers to keep the antivirus software up to date. Tightening up on internet security is absolutely essential as a first defence to identity theft attempts. As an alarm system, it's equally sensible to use a credit report monitoring service, to ensure that a consumer can quickly identify any unexpected credit check being made against them, or any new account being opened without their knowledge. This is often the first sign that identity theft has been committed. What is often not understood is that effective internet security and annual credit report monitoring is available completely free to UK consumers.

We're in an era where fear of falling victim to identity fraud is at an all time high but by educating consumers and businesses, the risks can be much reduced, and the ways of protecting ourselves can all be had for free.

To identify potential victims of identity theft, criminals are often reported to search through rubbish bins or to abuse the public availability of electoral roll registers and analysing them for names and addresses of those identities they would like to steal.

In reality criminals don't need to get their hands dirty or even leave their homes to commit identity theft. They only have to look on social networking websites such as Friends Reunited and track down the addresses of potential identity theft victims using websites that publish electoral roll details such as 192.com. It really is worth thinking about removing your personal details from such sites, or at least weighing up the risks and the benefits of subscribing to social networking sites, in particular to ration critical information such as place of birth. Any identity fraud criminal, based anywhere in the World, can lawfully obtain a birth certificate from a government website, armed with your place of birth.

Many consumers don't realise that identity theft is routinely used by drug smugglers, people traffickers, prostitution racketeers and in other forms of serious crime. Most believe that the main issue arising from identity theft is credit fraud, where credit is obtained by impersonation. Many loans and credit cards can be obtained without ever having a face-to-face meeting with the service provider. And credit fraud is where consumers appear to have the greatest fear of falling victim to identity theft.

Once upon a time, credit reports were only sought by those who were declined credit, and were delivered slowly by mail. Nowadays, anyone can request a personal credit check and this can be obtained more securely and instantly online. By obtaining an annual which now can be obtained entirely for free and, importantly, without having to disclose your card details, it is easy to spot any suspicious activities or irregularities.

An annual credit report will quickly reveal signs of attempted and successful credit fraud. It will show searches being made in relation to applications for credit in your name, changes of address and any new accounts opened. One free annual credit report service also offers free specialised identity theft prevention and assistance services to help you stay safe, alongside, providing independent and expert advice.