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Identity theft is becoming increasingly common in Britain. Research shows that with fraud accounts for 40% of all crimes committed in England and Wales, and 64% of these cases are related to identity fraud. The police also highlight that 80% of fraud is now cyber-enabled, with criminals often scouring the internet for your personal information before committing fraud using a stolen identity to bypass the identity checking process needed to get a loan or take out a new mobile phone contract. There are some critical mistakes which many of us make which could make us a victim of identity theft – are you guilty of any of them?

Sharing Identifiable Images Online

Be very careful about sharing images that reveal personal details online as these may be used in identity theft. Posting photos of boarding passes, concert tickets, or even your workplace on social media can disclose information like your name, date of birth, or address. This can provide criminals with enough details to commit identity theft. Use your social media site’s privacy settings to make sure only your real friends are seeing your snaps.

Overloading on Online Sign-ups

Every time you sign up for an online service requiring your personal details, you increase the risk of those details being leaked in a data breach or hacking attempt. Experts advise avoiding unnecessary registrations, especially on sites that demand full name, date of birth, address, and phone number. Use a guest checkout or similar so that you don’t have to give your details, especially if the site is not one you use frequently.

Using Obvious Passwords

Many people still use simple and predictable passwords like the names of their favourite football teams or pets. Security experts have found that Liverpool and Chelsea were among the most commonly used passwords in leaked databases. Be more inventive in your choice of passwords, and incorporate numbers and symbols where possible. Set up two-step verification (2SV) for added security on any sites which offer that extra layer of security, even though it might mean it takes longer to log in.

Avoid Participating in Identity Theft Quizzes

Online quizzes may seem harmless but can provide enough information for criminals to create a fake identity. Quizzes like “What’s your Hobbit name?” or those asking for old photos are designed to gather personal details, which can then be used for more sophisticated identity theft techniques. Some quizzes may be entirely harmless, but just take a second to think before parting with your middle name, date of birth and other information on a site you don’t really trust.

Using Public Wi-Fi Hotspots

Unsecured public Wi-Fi hotspots can pose significant security risks. Using public access internet hotspots without a VPN can potentially allow scammers to intercept any passwords you enter on your device, or gain access to your device information. Many public Wi-Fi networks lack proper security measures, so think about what you are doing when hooked up to an unsecured public connection.

 

The latest statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that 6.7 million people across Great Britain are now receiving monthly financial support through Universal Credit. This means-tested benefit is designed to assist those out of work or who are in work on a low income with the cost of daily living.  As unemployment levels rise to almost 4% and more people claim Universal Credit, the DWP has updated its guidance on the identity verification process required for new claimants. Although these new changes were announced before the July 2025 general election, there are no plans in the pipeline to change the application process for Universal Credit under the new Labour government. To claim Universal Credit, individuals must first verify their identity. The DWP has published a comprehensive list of ID documents that new claimants need to bring to the Jobcentre if they are invited for a face-to-face interview.

How to Verify Your Identity

The DWP states that verifying a claimant’s identity is the only way in which they can link the right person to the right claim. This also helps to reduce identity fraud in the system. There are various options which people can take to verify their identity for official purposes. Even if you have already verified your identity to apply for a passport, driving licence or for other benefits, you might have to repeat the process for a Universal Credit application.

Verifying your identity online is usually a straightforward way to confirm that you are who you say you are. You can do this by providing information that only you would know, such as details about your passport, your driving licence number or recent payslips. If you are applying for Universal Credit, the DWP will accept any two of the following list of key identity documents:

• Payslips from your employer dated within the last three months
• Your most recent P60 (annual statement of tax paid to HMRC)
• A valid UK passport
• Self-assessment returns submitted to HMRC if you are self-employed
• Tax credit information or correspondence
• Utility bills or mobile phone contract bills.

People who are able to verify their identity successfully using the online portal progress to the next stage of the process. If you don’t have the correct combination of documents to prove your identity online, then you might be asked to prove your identity in another way.

Other Ways to Verify Your Identity

If you have not got a passport, or driving licence, or the other documents which the DWP want to see for online identity verification, then there are other ways of doing this. These include:

• Face to face appointments with an advisor
• Phone interviews

During an interview, the advisor will go through your history and look at whatever documents you can provide to help establish your identity. When you make the appointment, you will be told what sorts of documents they are looking for. Although the process may appear frustrating, it is not designed to block your application, even though it might feel like that at the time.

 

Anyone in the UK has the right to set up a company. Many people who are self-employed operate as sole traders, but others will choose to set up a limited company or partnership through Companies House. Proposed amendments to the Companies Act 2006 aim to introduce stricter identity verification measures for any people who are involved with setting up, managing, or controlling companies to prevent money laundering by criminals, and to make sure that the people who are listed as directors of companies are who they say they are. There has been a growing problem of criminals registering companies using stolen identities and fake addresses, either to launder money or to apply for loans or credit which they are not entitled to.

ID Verification Process

The new rules will direct anyone who wants to be listed as a company director to one of their approved identity verification companies. Proving your identity will involve sharing details from key identity documents, such as the number and date of issue of a passport, or your driving licence number. Once the verification process has gone through, each individual will receive a unique identifier number which they can then use to complete the company registration process.

Before this new legislation was introduced, there were no identity verification requirements for people wishing to set up companies and list themselves as directors. The government felt that this was a loophole in the law which could lead to potential abuse through false registrations or fake identities. The new laws aim to improve the reliability of information available from Companies House, and to make it difficult to use fake identity details when setting up a new company.

Who Can Be a Company Director?

Limited companies must have at least one director, and many have more than one. The directors are the people who are legally listed as running the company and have to make sure that they follow the laws around running a business and submitting accounts. Anyone over the age of 16 can be listed as a company director, and don’t have to live in the UK. All companies operating in the UK require a British address, but this can be a service or correspondence address rather than a home address.

Directors can be listed on more than one company if they wish. If someone has been legally banned from running a company then they are not allowed to apply to become a director again until their period of disqualification has passed. People who are undischarged bankrupts are usually not allowed to be a director of a company until the disqualification has expired. Names of directors are public information and can be accessed through the Companies House website by anyone who wants to look.

Resigning as a director is easy too. If for whatever reason you want to step down as a company director, you put this in writing to the board or shareholders, and they will then inform Companies House which will remove your name from the register.

If you are thinking of working in the civil service, for either local or national government, it’s only reasonable that you can expect to encounter some level of background checking. In certain government departments, contractors or full-time staff members dealing with sensitive or classified information must undergo security clearance. This security clearance is a type of background checking and is done in addition to the basics of verifying identity, and checking someone’s academic qualifications. There are six different levels of security clearance, and job adverts will usually clearly state what level of checks are required.

Who Needs Security Clearance?

Security clearance is usually needed for contractors and full-time employees working in the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and other government departments where access to sensitive information is plausible. From a contractor point of view, it is particularly relevant for workers involved in projects like IT systems.

Getting security clearance involves a national security vetting process with background checks assessing identity, reliability, integrity, and suitability for someone having access to national secrets. The depth of checks varies based on clearance level and exposure to sensitive information. Clearance is usually granted for a set period of time and once it has expired, the person will have to reapply before going back to work in that role. All security vetting for government roles in the UK is done through the National Security’s Vetting Solution (NSVS) portal.

Levels of Security Clearance in the UK

There are six main levels of security clearance, ranging from the basic to the very detailed and involved. Job adverts will typically state whether clearance is needed, and at which level.

Level 1 – Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS): this is entry level security checking. It looks eligibility to work in the UK and whether the application has any sort of criminal record.

Level 2 – Accreditation Check (AC): Used in aviation security for those with access to restricted areas, valid for up to five years. This is the sort of check a baggage handler would need.

Level 3 – Counter Terrorist Check (CTC): This check is for individuals working in areas at risk of a terrorist attack and will look at the applicant’s backgrounds and people they associate with.

Level 4 – Security Check (SC): People who have access to sensitive documents will need his level of check, which is formally reviewed after five years.

Level 5 – Enhanced Security Check (eSC): These are checks done in addition to standard security checks for specific work requiring additional checks.

Level 6 – Developed Vetting (DV): For individuals with frequent, uncontrolled access to top-secret information. Developed vetting looks in depth at someone’s background, friends, and family.

Security clearance is unavoidable for anyone engaged in government work involving sensitive information. The system is complicated and for the most detailed levels of checks, can take several months to complete. You may be able to start work after having preliminary checks, on restricted duties until the more detailed checks are complete.

Buying a house is often listed as one of the most stressful life experiences anyone can go through, right up there with getting married or suffering a bereavement. It’s not something that most of us do often, and because of this, we are often unprepared for the paperwork and identity checks we go through with the estate agents and the lawyers. One of the most unexpected parts of the process for many buyers is that their lawyer asks them to verify their identity before even starting to work for them on the legalities of buying a new home. Why do lawyers request evidence of your identity and address when you sell or buy a property? It’s all about complying with the money laundering law, and making sure your money comes from legitimate sources.

Identity Checks and Residential Conveyancing

For UK residents, acceptable evidence of identity for buying or selling properties typically includes showing one of the following original documents:

• Current signed passport
• Current UK or European Union photo-card driving licence
• Current provisional UK photo driving licence – old-style non-photo provisional licences are not acceptable
• Benefit book or letter from the Benefits Agency confirming entitlement to benefits
• Residency permit or Home Office alien registration card
• UK armed services ID card

There are other less commonly held forms of identification such as firearms certificates which can pe provided if you can’t show any of the more commonly used documents. You will also need to show the originals, not scans or photographs.

In addition, your lawyer will want to conform your current address, and this will involve showing an additional form of ID showing your name and address such as a council tax bill, bank statement, insurance certificate, utility bill or mortgage statement. There are also additional options for clients who can’t show the usual forms of ID, such as getting a sworn statement from a legal professional. If you think you might struggle to pull together the right paperwork, discuss your situation with your lawyer who should be able to give good advice on the best route for you.

Company Buyers

Another common scenario is when a company is purchasing property, either as an asset or for a member of staff to live in. This sort of transaction involves proving the identity of the company as well as the directors. Purchasers will be asked for a utility bill or bank statement in the company name, and the directors will prove their identities in the same way as private purchasers would.

Selling a Property

The other side of the property transaction is the seller, and people who are selling properties will also have to verify their identity before the sale goes through. Often, the sellers will be buying another property elsewhere, but won’t have to go through the proving identity process twice. Lawyers will want to take copies of documents presented as they have to retain these to prove that they have been complying with the money laundering rules for all of their conveyancing clients.

 

There has been a dramatic increase in Right to Rent checks conducted by letting agents after the introduction of new, higher fines at the start of 2024. Industry bodies are reporting a staggering 577% year-on-year rise in these checks by lettings agents, driven by the significantly higher civil penalties—up to £20,000—for landlords and lettings agents failing to carry out identity checks and make sure that all adults living in a property are in the UK legally. It is mandatory for all landlords and letting agents in England to ensure that individuals without lawful immigration status do not rent in the private sector.

Penalties for landlords found to be renting to illegal tenants have risen sharply since the start of 2024. Initial breaches are now punished with fines up to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier, with repeat offences escalating to £10,000 and £20,000 respectively. Research the fines issued for non-compliance in the first three months of 2024 are more than for the whole of 2023. Under the new checking rules, agents and landlords must conduct Right to Rent checks through either a manual in-person check, identity document validation technology (IDV), or the Home Office’s online verification tool.

What to Expect from a Right to Rent Check

Since October 2022, agents and landlords are no longer allowed to accept identity documents via email for Right to Rent checks. This means that tenants either have to bring their documents in person to the letting agency or landlord’s office, or use an accredited online portal. Your landlord is trying to establish one fact only – that you are in the UK legally. If you can show a valid UK or Irish passport, than that will be the end to the checks. If you are from another country, then the landlord will want to see any visa stamps in the passport confirming your right to live in the UK. Alternatively, you can provide them with a Home Office share code which lets them log into an official website and verify your identity and your immigration status.

Increasing Demand on the Rented Sector

Although the Right to Rent checks themselves shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, but tenants are reporting some delays in processing the identity checks before they can get into their new home. This is partly because it is not just the people who are named on the tenancy agreement who have to be checked, the rules require that everyone over the age of 18 who will be living in the property be checked.  Another driver behind the surge in Right to Rent check is the expanding rental market. According to the latest lettings market news, there was a 28% increase in people moving into a rental property from April 2023 to April 2024.

If you are thinking of moving into a rented property, be prepared to be asked to prove your identity. Get these checks done at an early stage of the application process before any subsequent checks into credit worthiness or references.

British employers have a legal responsibility to make sure that anyone working for them in the UK has the right to work here before they start their job. Recently, fines for non-compliance have tripled. Government authorities have also put more effort into auditing businesses who they suspect have sloppy identity verification processes for new workers. From January 2024, new regulations set the maximum fines at £60,000 per illegal worker, depending on the severity and recurrence of the violation.

In cases where the government believes that a company has been deliberately hiring illegal workers, there is also the possibility that the directors could be jailed for as long as five years. Many companies in the UK have a special licence which allows them to employ foreign workers.  If these businesses are found to have been breaking the rules, then their licence will be withdrawn. Any company operating in the UK must be prepared for an audit, so here’s what to expect.

What is a Statutory Excuse?

If the inspectors arrive in your company and start to audit your business, then don’t panic. They are both looking for illegal workers, and evidence that you have done everything you can to work out who is legally allowed to work in the UK. If you can prove that you did everything possible, and kept all the right paperwork, this is a defence known as a “statutory excuse”. It will let you off the hook in terms of any potential fines. In order to put in a statutory defence if one of your employees is found to be in the UK illegally you have to prove that you have carried out one of the following:

• Manual Right to Work check
• Home Office Right to Work check through their online portal
• Right to Work Check through an approved Identity Service provider (IDSP)

What is Involved in Right to Work checks?

Whatever methods you use for checking the right to work, you must do everything you can to make sure the documents you see to prove someone’s identity are genuine. Make sure documents actually relate to the person standing in front of you. Make copies of any documents someone presents to you, and keep them securely. This applies while the person is employed, and for two years after. Many employers choose to outsource Right to Work checks, but they have to ensure their chosen provider is keeping adequate records too.

Employers also should have a process for re-checking employees with time-limited work permits. Put dates for checks in the diary so that they are completed before the original permit expires. It’s also important to be mindful of legislation around discrimination and ensure that everyone is treated equally and fairly. Use the same process for right to work checks across all applicants and employees, including British citizens. Base employment decisions solely on job suitability, preventing indirect discrimination due to perceived or actual protected characteristics. It would be illegal, for example, to have a policy of only running Right to Work checks on people with certain appearance.

 

The property market is picking up again as interest rates start to fall, and with summer being the peak time of year to move house, estate agents around the country are dealing with prospective new buyers. HMRC, the government body which manages tax, is vigilant about enforcing anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and is cracking down on agents who fail to conduct thorough checks on people who express an interest in buying or selling. Government rules specify that estate agents must run identity checks on not just the buyers, but the sellers too.

Fines for Non-Compliance

HMRC data reveals in a six-month period in 2022, 68 estate agents across the UK were fined a total of £519,000 for non-compliance with rules aimed at preventing money laundering from criminal activities. An additional 56 fines were issued between January 1 and March 31, 2023. Estate agents have to register with HMRC, and submit checks on sellers and buyers regularly.

Estate agents are supposed to log into an online portal, and enter the names and addresses of the people who they want to check. The software will then allow the agent to upload an image of a passport or driving licence which the client has provided, and compare that to a selfie of the customer taken with a webcam.

Property-Related Identity Checks Fraud

According to the industry, the property market in the UK is seeing “several thousand” cases of fraud each year. Some attempts are blatant, like using a photo on a stolen passport, while others are more sophisticated. Criminal groups continually devise sophisticated methods to launder money through property, which places increasing pressure on the industry to adopt more sophisticated measures to stop them. Fraudulent documents are becoming increasingly more difficult to detect which is why technology is being used more frequently to pick up fakes and forgeries.

Be Prepared When Buying or Selling

When the market is moving quickly, any extra paperwork which adds delays into the system can be frustrating. Remember though that all the other parties who might be interested in buying the property will be going through the same processes as you. Visit the estate agent early in the process of viewing properties, and consider going through the identity verification before you’re ready to start putting in offers. If you are thinking of viewing multiple properties with different agents, you might have to repeat the process with every office.

Identity checks are usually simple and will involve showing some sort of photographic ID such as your passport or driving licence. If you are buying your property with another person, or selling as a joint owner, then both people will have to prove their identities to comply with the rules. Your estate agent or lawyer will be able to provide advice and guidance on managing the process if you are not sure what documents you should provide. People from outside the UK, who have the right to buy property in the UK, might have to provide more detailed information to comply with the legal requirements.

Why Identity Checking is Important

Identity theft and associated scams are frequently covered in the press and on television. It’s something which many people are worried about. For businesses, protecting against fraud is crucial. A 2023 report into fraud and identity reveals that 69% of organizations suffered increased fraud losses compared to 2022. Additionally, 35% of consumers perceive themselves to be at risk of fraud, with identity theft identified as the most significant threat. One of the only strategies to prevent fraud is identity verification. Increasingly, identity checking is being applied not only to customers but also to employees. There are many ways of proving someone’s identity, but this usually involves drawing data from various sources, including online data sources, and cross-referencing it with information from credit reference agencies.

Face to Face Identity Verification

Traditionally, identity verification has been done face-to-face, whether checking out potential customers or new employees before offering a job. However, technological advancements have made online identity checks possible. This move was accelerated further by the shift to remote work during the pandemic. Online identity verification typically involves asking the customer or employee to create an account of a website. Companies then check the details they enter against trusted platforms like the Government Gateway portal or using credit reference agencies. There is also a strong possibility that AI could help improve identity verification processes by running checks more quickly. AI can pick up anomalies or inconsistencies more easily than human researchers.

Why Do Businesses Put So Much Effort into Identity Checking?

There are many benefits of rigorous identity verification from an employer’s point of view, but these aren’t always so obvious to the applicant. It’s important to remember that although jumping through identity checking hoops before you start work might be inconvenient, the employer isn’t doing it to annoy you or make life difficult for you. The main reasons that companies spend so much time and money vetting their employees using technology include:

• Cost savings: Automated identity verification processes can significantly reduce losses due to fraud and dishonest activities when compared with an in person or face to face process.
• Fraud prevention: Companies use automated identity checking to try to stay one step ahead of the fraudsters who are constantly refining their techniques.
• Legal compliance: There can be serous legal consequences for employing individuals without proper qualifications or the right to work in the UK.

Each company tailors its identity checking procedures to suit its specific needs, and may use varying checking processes depending on the seniority of the position involved. At a minimum, verifying job applicants’ identities involves requesting key identity documents like passports to confirm their eligibility to work in the UK. Other checks are up to the individual company. Although checking is commonplace, the methods and processes are still widely misunderstood by the general public. That means all companies should be open and transparent with applicants about what sorts of checking they are doing, and why. They should also get permission for more in-depth checks such as credit checking.

 

Landlords are increasingly campaigning for stricter measures to guard against tenants moving in and then not paying their rent. A recent landlord survey revealed that 70% of them believed that looking at tenant credit checks was a good indication of whether or not they would fall into arrears. By law, the only identity checks which a landlord or letting agency has to do is the Right to Rent check, which establishes whether someone is in the UK legally. A Right to Rent check just involves looking at passports and other immigration status documents, whereas the other screening which agencies and landlords might want to do are purely optional. This means that the checks could vary between different agencies.

Why Are Landlords Worried?

According to findings from a large lettings agency company, financial worries loom large among landlords in England, exacerbated by rising mortgage rates, heightened taxes, and escalating maintenance costs, all of which impact profitability. Increased legislation means that it’s not as easy as previous to evict tenants who cause problems or don’t pay their rent. This is good news for decent tenants who are no longer at risk of an unfair eviction, but does mean that landlords are spending more time and effort at the beginning of the tenancy to delve deeper into someone’s background. A large number of landlords have also called for local Councils or central government to set up a register which contains the names of tenants who have been proven to damage properties, or who have a history of non-payment of rent.

What Credit and other Checks Can I Expect?

As discussed previously, the only checks which are legally mandated are the checks on nationality and the right to live in the UK. Any other checks are voluntary and will vary. However, there are checks which are more common than others and prospective tenants can expect:

• Reference checking – landlords or agents will want you to supply the names and contact details of people you have rented property from before so they can vouch for you.
• Credit check – landlords are less interested in what you’re spending your money on than whether you have enough money coming in to easily meet the rent payments. Large levels of debt are going to raise concerns.
• Employment check – related to income checks, the employment check looks at whether you are telling the truth about whether you are in regular, steady employment. The actual salary is less important than the affordability of the rent.

Checks for Guarantors

For younger tenants, or for those who have a less stable income, they may be asked to provide a guarantor. A guarantor is someone who steps in if the tenant is not able to pay the rent for whatever reason. Landlords and agencies will want to run similar checks on the guarantor too. Think carefully about who you choose as a guarantor if you are asked to supply one by an agency. Usually, a parent or other close family member is an appropriate choice.