A new Fraud Act will tackle the issue of identity fraud, which has become increasingly prevalent in recent years.

Until now, law enforcement officers have only been allowed to prosecute those responsible for perpetrating ID fraud after the fraud has occured and been reported by the victim.

The new Act will give Police the power to prosecute anyone intending to commit a fraud, whether that be impersonating another person (‘false representation’), tampering with cash machines or chip and pin stations.

The Act also makes it a crime to ‘obtain services dishonestly’ which is intended to crack down on online fraud.

Neil Munroe, ID fraud expert at credit reference agency Equifax, said: “Hopefully, with the new Fraud Act and other measures undertaken by the credit industry, it will provide peace of mind to both victims and those who worry about falling victim. And let’s hope it will also work as a deterrent to other would-be fraudsters.”