HC Deb 24 May 2004 vol 421 c1440W
Mr. Stephen O'Brien

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what action is being taken to deal with the problems of industrial sabotage as a result of corporate identity theft; [174691]

(2) what action is being taken to encourage UK firms to take precautions against corporate identity theft. [174692]

Mr. Sutcliffe

Companies House is considering what steps it can actively take within the scope of the present law to reduce the risk of corporate identity theft. In particular it is considering further enhancing its electronic filing services to provide greater security for companies that feel at risk. Companies House is also an active member of the North East Fraud Forum, which is a unique partnership between the public and private sectors to share knowledge and experience with a view to defeating economic crime.

However, this is also a matter for companies themselves to consider how best to protect themselves against the risk of corporate identity theft. Companies House also offers a service known as "Monitor" which companies can subscribe to which will alert them to the filing of any documents on their public record. Companies can also easily make regular checks of their public record on the Companies House Website (companieshouse.gov.uk) to make sure their records reflect the true position.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many cases of corporate identity theft have been reported in each of the last five years. [174693]

Mr. Sutcliffe

Companies House began to record figures for corporate identity theft as a particular statistic in May 2004. It would be of disproportionate cost to isolate allegations of corporate identity theft from the previous records of all complaints about the false filing of documents.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment has been made of the costs to(a) UK consumers and (b) UK companies of corporate identity theft in each of the last five years. [174694]

Mr. Sutcliffe

No such assessments have been made.