By Sara Greig

An increasing number of New Zealanders are registering aliases that could be used to execute identity fraud.

More than 1,000 new aliases are registered with credit check agency Veda each month.

Hundreds of people use eight to ten different names with some people using more than 30 aliases, said Veda managing director John Roberts.

Veda’s alias register has nearly half a million names on it and has increased by 50% in the last two years.

Mr Roberts said while some aliases are legitimate – for example, married women can legally use their maiden and married names - there are plenty of people using aliases to carry out fraud, with a 10 percent increase in people with one or more aliases also having a default on their credit report.

There is also a 21.7% increase in the number of people declared bankrupt who have aliases.

The Department of Internal Affairs estimates as many as 133,000 New Zealanders may be victims of identity fraud, costing the economy more than $200 million annually.

Veda holds information on 16.5 million credit active people and 4.4 million companies & businesses in Australasia.

(BusinessDesk)