Research released by Noddle, the free-for-life credit reporting service, reveals that more than one-third of people in the United Kingdom think it likely that they could be defrauded by being tricked into handing over personal information.

Noddle's research found that 93% of people are worried about the safety of their personal information. Despite this, many Britons are still inadvertently helping fraudsters by not following simple steps to protect themselves. More than half of people (53%) admit to throwing away letters with personal information on them without shredding them first; nearly a quarter of people (23%) have lent their credit cards to others; more than one-fifth (22%) have saved their PINs on their mobile phones, while 16% admit to keeping their PINs written down in the same places as their cards.

When asked what worries them the most about their personal details falling into the wrong hands, nearly four in 10 (38%) of the public are most concerned about their details being used to apply for financial products such as loans; the biggest concern of a further 25% is having money stolen online; and the main concern of 20% is having personal details used to buy retail items that they have not chosen themselves.

John Cannon, Noddle's fraud and identity director, believes that it is particularly important to educate the public, as the research has found that there are only three types of common fraud that more than half of people can name. These are identity theft (76%), benefits fraud (67%) and phishing fraud (51%). Only 5% of people have heard of the ‘Lebanese Loop’ (a type of ATM fraud) or a ‘419 scam’ (named after a section in the Nigerian fraud statute, by which individuals are promised a significant sum of money for a small upfront payment). Relationship managers in the wealth management industry might be expected to make up the shortfall in knowledge.

Cannon said: “One of the easiest and quickest ways to spot potential security breaches early is to regularly check your credit report, which can reveal activity that hasn't been instigated by you.”