20 April 2005
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) yesterday became the first bank in Europe to launch a tailor-made service aimed at helping customers repair their credit identity after falling victim to identity theft.
PrivacyGuard for RBS Credit Card includes an identity theft and fraud protection proposition powered by Experian, the UK’s leading credit bureau.
It will help protect customers against identity fraud committed not only via their credit cards but via any financial services products held with any financial institution.
PrivacyGuard costs just £6.99 a month and offers an innovative package of assistance aimed at preventing identity theft and repairing the damage caused by it, including credit monitoring and an early warning system to alert customers to any unusual activity involving their account.
“The cost burden and inconvenience to the individual for recovering their identity make it relevant for the card issuer to provide its customers with a service that provides assistance, appropriate levels of insurance and financial protection,” explained Iain Clink, managing director of RBC Cards Business.
“The Royal Bank has introduced this new service, which tackles identity recovery as well as fraud prevention, to show just how seriously we take the issue.”
More than 100,000 cases of identity theft occur each year in the UK costing a total of £1.3 billion according to the Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System (CIFAS).