Commonwealth referrals to identity theft support soar

Commonwealth credentials are being stolen or breached at an ever-increasing rate, with agencies referring some 25,000 Australians to an identity support service last financial year.

The federal government has revealed the number of people making use of an identity theft support service due to compromised Commonwealth credentials has grown at an average of 26 percent a year since FY20-21. 

IDCARE currently provides internet and phone-based services for identity theft or misuse cases related to a Commonwealth credential and/or referred by a Commonwealth agency, iTnews has confirmed.

The government set aside almost $20 million in the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy to both continue and improve services for victims of identity theft and misuse over the next four years.

Administered by the Attorney-General's Department, "the funding seeks to build on existing services by helping more individuals access tailored support and guidance to recover from identity compromise,” the department said in tender documents this week.

The service provider will facilitate case management, device remediation including reset and wipe, alerting and intelligence across the clearweb and darkweb, and "comprehensive training to prepare Commonwealth agency frontline staff to handle and respond to victims of identity crime."