Why it’s vital to report a lost passport

It is the time of year when we start looking out our passports in readiness for a summer holiday.

However, while many of us are quick to report a lost or stolen bank card to get it cancelled, we are a lot slower to react if we have lost or had our passport stolen.

This is opening the door to fraudsters, according to a warning from Action Fraud. The Home Office says 400,000 UK passports are reported lost or stolen each year, but despite the risks of this important document getting into the wrong hands, we typically wait 73 days before reporting it.

The latest figures from Cifas, a not-for-profit fraud database, show identity fraud is at “epidemic” levels with 89,000 cases recorded in the first six months of 2017 – up 5% compared to the year before.

It reckons identities are being stolen at a rate of 500 a day.

It is vital that you report a lost or stolen passport immediately to reduce the risk of your details being used by criminals to either enter the UK illegally or to commit identity fraud.

Director of Action Fraud, Pauline Smith, said: “The consequences of losing your passport can be severe. Passports have all the information that fraudsters need to steal your identity.” Once a passport is reported as lost or stolen, HM Passport Office will cancel it and within 24 hours will pass the details to the National Crime Agency, which will record the incident on Interpol’s Stolen and Lost Travel Document database.