Holidaymakers 'are leaving their identity at risk'

People from the UK are heading off on holiday without taking precautions to protect themselves against ID theft while they are away, a new report warns.

Despite the fact that Experian has reported that ID fraud increased by 69 per cent in the UK last year, a new survey found that Brits are still not taking sensible measures before setting off for their holiday.

Fewer than half (42 per cent) of UK holidaymakers took all the steps possible to protect their identity when heading away on a vacation.

In fact, 55 per cent left their post unattended to while on holiday and 23 per cent admitted to not really thinking about the issue before their trip.

"We spend weeks looking forward to our holidays, but many of us leave the most important item off our checklist - our identity," explained Jim Hodgkins, managing director of CreditExpert.co.uk.

"As well as keeping important documents secure, regularly checking your credit report will help you spot any irregularities in your finances and ensure you won't have any nasty surprises to add to your post-holiday blues."

Earlier this year, the UK's payment association, Apacs, issued advice to UK holidaymakers about using credit and debit cards while abroad. These included only taking necessary cards away and informing banks before the trip.

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