Men are TWICE as likely to fall victim to identity thefts compared to women

Men are twice as likely to become a victim of identity theft as women.

Research showed that 11 per cent of women have had their identity stolen against 23 per cent of men.

In a poll of 3,000 people, the data showed that despite their higher susceptibility to identity theft, 64 per cent of men were concerned compared with 70 per cent of women.

The research by Nationwide found women were more cautious about sharing information online, with 63 per cent protecting their social media accounts but only half of the men.

Research found that men are twice as likely to become a victim of identity theft as women (file image)

 The gap between the genders came as the survey revealed over two-thirds of people were worried about becoming a victim of identity fraud.

This concern increased with age, with 62 per cent of those aged 16-34 worrying about identity theft compared to 73 per cent for 45-54-year-olds.

Despite this, the data showed a worrying lack of awareness that posting personal details online could make people prime targets for fraudsters.

The survey highlighted that oversharing on social media was a ‘key vulnerability’ with 70 per cent of people admitting they had shared personal information online including their full name, date of birth, addresses, emails and telephone numbers.

 Women were found to be more cautious about sharing information online, with 63 per cent protecting their social media accounts but only half of the men (file image)

Of those who had become a victim of identity theft, the majority had seen their details used to order goods such as cars and mobile phones, steal cash from bank accounts or borrow money through loans and credit cards.

Ed Fisher, Nationwide’s head of fraud policy, said that while it was good that identity theft was ‘at the front of people’s minds,’ the survey had shown a ‘worrying lack of steps taken by people to protect themselves.’ Fisher said people should take basic precautions such as not oversharing information online as well as protecting devices and accounts with security software and passwords and not providing information to unexpected requests and messages without checking they were genuine.

‘It is only by taking precautionary steps that we can hope to prevent this type of fraud from occurring. The less we give the criminals, the less chance they have of striking,’ he added.

Identity theft is a fast-growing source of fraud in Britain, with losses caused by criminals using stolen or fake documents to open bank accounts or take over someone else’s surging 86pc to £21.4m in the first six months of last year, according to trade association UK Finance.