I have recently found out that someone has applied for a credit account with JD Williams on my behalf. They had filled in the online application form with my Name, Date of Birth, a random London address and claimed I had just moved there from an address 4 years ago. Now, with every credit application I have ever made, from a Loan or Credit Card to a mobile phone contract, there has always been a process of verification to confirm I am infact living at the address given and who I say I am. These searches show on my credit report as soft searches as they were used to confirm my identity. If I apply for any credit accounts soon after moving, I struggle myself as the verification processes fail until my existing accounts feed the updated info back to the credit reference agencies. My concern with JD Williams and the 12+ other sub sites they operate is that there is no identity check performed and from a search online, a lot of people are having the same issue as me, many more finding out when a debt is passed to a collection agency and the victim is found. I am 100% confident that JD Williams do no due diligence checks prior to processing the Hard Credit Search which adds the new linked address to your report. If they did attempt to check my identity electronically before processing the credit application, it would have failed as I was not known at the address supplied. The concern I have is that a fraudster can easily manipulate someones credit report without needing to verify anything, not even your email address. The company generally offers very high APR rates of 50%+ so I would assume this is targeted at those with bad credit histories and its likely most people are granted credit. I have reported to the FSA & ICO but they suggest that action would only be taken if they receive enough reports. I just feel not enough people are aware of why they were victims of fraud so easily because anyone that knows you personally and where you live, can easily order products on credit under your name and they dont even need to have any communication sent to your actual address.