KEY POINTS:
Nine hundred cases of identity fraud uncovered in the past 12 months are just the tip of the iceberg say police intelligence experts, worried at a surge in the crime.
Detective Sergeant David Kennedy, who heads the police identity intelligence unit, says a large number of offenders - including organised crime groups and international syndicates - are committing identity thefts and frauds around the country.
With reports in Britain suggesting identity fraud has risen more than 60 per cent in the past year, police here have discovered around 900 separate incidents relating to 400 identities.
"Experience tells us these numbers are a fraction of the real volume of activity regularly occurring in New Zealand," said Kennedy.
G8 ministers meeting in Tokyo last week heard estimates that ID crime cost the United States $66 billion and Europe more than $130 billion last year. Kennedy said one of the challenges facing his unit, which was set up four years ago, was that there were no figures available in New Zealand.
"The exact size of identity crime in New Zealand is unclear, but it is numerous," he said.
"We simply don't have a base line and we are trying to establish that. We've had to start from scratch."
The country's most notorious case of identity crime is that of Wayne Patterson, who last year was jailed for eight years after using 123 identities to steal more than $3.4 million in a benefit fraud scam.
Kennedy said cases like Patterson's were "not unheard of... We think it's a major problem in New Zealand".
Last year a woman pleaded guilty to 11 fraud charges, involving loans worth almost $20,000. She used the personal details of three friends and her sister. The first that one of the victims knew about it was when she was contacted by a finance company demanding payment of a $6000 loan.
Identities are stolen in many ways, from passports or other documents taken from bags, cars or houses or through electronic breaches or "phishing"- scam emails. Fraudsters use them to get mortgages, personal loans or credit cards.
Kennedy said one perpetrator known as the "dumpster diver"was a prolific fraudster and career criminal who obtained personal identity information from rubbish bins outside banks or by breaking into cars and stealing documents.
He used the information to obtain credit cards and bank cards, then withdraw funds from accounts.
He then laundered the funds to other accounts using telephone banking. He was convicted of multiple fraud offences after stealing at least $40,000.
Maarten Kleintjes, manager of the police national e-crime laboratory, said identity crime was increasing as more people used the internet and "crooks get more sophisticated".
He had recently investigated a case where internet criminals stole a businessman's Hotmail password and user name and then impersonated him.
"These crooks called all his customers pretending to be him, saying he was in Africa, hurt and needed money for medical bills."
The scammers asked customers to send money and they would be paid back when the businessman returned to New Zealand. "He couldn't access his customers any more. He called Microsoft and they said 'Who are you?' You can take a huge risk using Hotmail as your main provider for business."
Kleintjes said people needed to be ruthless about not divulging personal information to protect themselves against identity thieves.
"My mother always told me not to talk to strangers. It's common sense." Kennedy also urged vigilance, advising people to shred unwanted documents such as bank statements.
And they should be careful about the amount of information they posted on social websites.
"Sometimes it's personal details which form the basis of bank security questions, like your favourite colour or pet names. Identity criminals are adept at detecting and exploiting any vulnerabilities to their advantage."
