Identity theft - A true story! - Don't be a victim.

About 10 or so years ago I received a call from the Inland Revenue office. They said that they would like to visit me to talk to me about my working status and my National Insurance contributions.

Naturally I was quite nervous about their visit as I did not know what it was all about. They said that they were not at liberty to discuss the details with me over the telephone.

When they arrived we sat down and talked. They explained to me that they had received two National Insurance contributions from two different individuals sharing the same name. I was confused and still did not fully appreciate what they meant.

After further explanation I realised that my identity had been stolen. In simple terms there were two of me in the UK system.

As our discussion progressed I was told that I had to provide proof of my identity, imagine that, having to prove that you are who you say you are. It was quite a daunting experience. After I provided all the necessary and required documentation they told me that they were satisfied and that they will now follow up their investigations with the other gentleman involved.

Some months later the Inland Revenue contacted me to confirm that they had got to the bottom of this mystery and confirmed that the case was closed.

This incident happened a number of years ago when the Internet was not as well used for information as it is now used today.

I have since then discovered a website that you can use to check to make sure that your identity has not been cloned or stolen.