Off the wire
• Roundup: Munich Security Conference to focus on collapse of int'l order  • Interview: Removal of barriers vital to EU-China trade: official  • Montpellier ATP results  • ATP Zagreb Indoor Open results  • Roundup: Indonesian rescuers recover more bodies from wreckage of AirAsia plane  • Missing skier found dead in Sweden  • China toughens cyber account naming control  • S. African MPs urge integrity tests to ban police from involving in rhino poaching  • 3rd LD-Writethru-China Focus: China cuts reserve ratio by 50 basis points  • McIlroy settles case against former agent  
You are here: 　 Home

Sweden moves to tackle identity theft scourge

Xinhua, February 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sweden may introduce a new law to fight the growing problem of identity theft.

More and more Swedes are becoming victims of identity theft, with culprits buying items or services in other people's names. Now, Sweden's minister for justice, Morgan Johansson of the Social Democrat Party, has vowed to introduce new legislation that would criminalize identity theft, Swedish Television reported Wednesday.

In 2014, credit reporting firm UC saw a 48 percent increase in fraud blocks. All in all, UC carried out 9,933 blocks for private persons after police reports of identity theft.

"There is a gap in the legislation that must be filled," said Johansson. "We have completed and inquiry and will put forward a referral to the Council on Legislation in the spring and then we will put forward a law proposition in the fall."

Jan Olsson of Sweden's National Fraud Center welcomed the move, saying new legislation would make it easier for his organisation to launch preliminary investigations into identity theft.

That would send a strong signal that identity theft is a criminal act, Olsson said. Endit