By Lynelle Johnson

My experience with fraud occurred following a wonderful holiday in the Greek Islands. I was home preparing to face whatever (minor) overspending I had indulged in when I saw the balance. I just stared at the page for a minute unable to comprehend that in addition to my purchases, two amounts for $9000 and $8000 had been debited from my credit card. That’s $17,000 more than I have ever spent on a credit card at one time - in my life.

In my case I was a victim of ‘skimming’. I had used my card legitimately at an outlet and they had ‘skimmed’ the details with a device on the machine for later use.

I was able to contact the issuing bank and the amounts were reversed. But here’s the thing: it took letters and countless calls. I even had to fax my itinerary to prove that I didn’t make the purchases listed on my card. It was time consuming and stressful.

An estimated 499,500 people were victims of identity fraud in Australia last year, according to the Australian Consumer’s Association (Choice), including 383,000 incidences of credit card fraud. A frightening 124,000 people had their identities stolen.

Choice notes that many victims don’t know how their details were accessed or whether their names and personal information are still being used.

Are you leaving yourself open to identity fraud? And what can you do to protect your back? Here are some tips to protect yourself and your family.

Don’t throw bank statements and other information in the rubbish. Put a lock on your mail box and buy a shredder.

Don’t blindly surf the web. Google estimates that around 10% of sites have ‘malicious code,’ designed to record your keystrokes (when you type in passwords) or steal information. Download and regularly update virus software on your computer. Don’t allow pop ups from sites that you don’t know.

Don’t allow your details to be listed on random company databases. Many companies might have your details including government agencies, financial institutions, employers, social clubs, retailers, loyalty schemes, video libraries and airlines. But the longer the list, the more open you leave yourself to identity fraud.

Some criminals have been known to drive around with laptops looking for accessible wireless networks to hack.

Only offer essential personal information to companies and opt out of allowing your details to be passed onto third parties.