A businessman in Britain is suffering the effects of a terrible case of identity fraud. The case, which was reported in The Telegraph, concerns that of Adrian Richards, a project manager at a London firm. After having his passport stolen from him a decade ago, he became the victim of identity theft and is now facing a £130,000 tax bill in Germany and a £34,000 court order, for which he has been forced to hire solicitors.
The tax authorities in Germany have been on his case since 2010 due to an unpaid VAT bill that he does not know anything about. He says that he has never conducted any business in Germany, and it relates to the theft of his identity.
His passport was used to establish a communications company in the Isle of Man, and when the company was fined, he received the court order. He was forced to pay £450 for legal representation to withdraw the order, and he now thinks that the German tax bill is related to this fraud.
He could end up having to pay a solicitor in Germany to fight it, and he claims that he would have to remortgage his house if he has to pay the fine.
To make matters worse, he has also found out that the passport was extended by the criminal, meaning it is still valid and could be used to commit further fraud.
This is just the latest case of serious ID theft to hit the headlines, and it is a problem that continues to grow. It is thought that as more people get biometric passports this should help to reduce this type of fraud. However, that will be of no comfort to Mr Richards or any of the thousands of other people who have become victim to ID fraud.
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