id-fraud-hits-the-rich-and-famous money features Virgin Media

What links pop singer Lily Allen, comedians Ricky Gervais and Harry Hill and a clutch of top-flight football players? The answer is identity fraud. They have all either lost serious amounts of money after being impersonated by criminals or come within a whisker of doing so.

You would have thought someone who appeared in adverts for a credit card identity protection service would be careful with their personal data. Not Alistair McGowan. He threw the unwanted contents of his wallet into a bin, thinking that would be the last of it.

But then a national newspaper went through his bins to see if he was practicing what he preached. They found his debit card, which was valid for four months, his membership card for the actor's union, Equity, and an insurance card - more than enough to mount a major identity fraud.

"It is embarrassing and will teach me to be more careful in the future," said McGowan. "It is very important to destroy material that contains personal information."

Protect yourself from ID Fraud by getting a free 30-day trial of CreditExpert's monitoring service.