Doorstep delivery snap helped steal my identity

Any stories or scams? Contact me via dean.dunham@reachplc.com

WHEN courier firms drop off parcels, they are instructed to take a picture of the parcel on your doorstep as evidence of delivery. How often have you seen the driver arrive, opened the door to take the parcel and then allowed him or her to take a photo of it in your hands? I have and I’m sure many readers have too.

STOP doing it now, here’s why:

Sean from Derby had a shock recently when he applied for a mortgage. His application was rejected on the basis he had defaulted on several personal loans, which he found strange as he did not have any. His mortgage broker advised him to check his credit file, which revealed his identity had been stolen and the fraudster had gone on a spending spree taking out loans and credit in his name.

Further investigation revealed the fraudster had been using photo identification to prove his identity when making the loan applications. Sean wondered if the photo had been lifted from online but it has now transpired the image was taken by a courier delivering a parcel.

Sean cannot pinpoint the exact date this happened but has often taken personal delivery of parcels on his doorstep and let the courier take a picture of him holding the parcel. This is why I will never do this again and I urge you to adopt the same rule.

Even if the delivery driver is a familiar face, you do not know who else may have access to the photographs taken by the driver after the event. Whilst talking about avoiding scams I also want to remind you of the importance of controlling who has possession of your personal data and the great free tool offered by right.ly to control this.