Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of individuals who are wrongly flagged by CIFAS each year; and what steps she has taken to prevent such errors.

Services like CIFAS (Credit Information Fraud Avoidance Service) play a crucial role in safeguarding against financial fraud, supporting the government’s broader efforts to protect individuals and businesses from these crimes.

CIFAS is a not-for-profit organisation that facilitates fraud prevention by providing a platform for financial institutions to share information about potential fraud risks. When a financial institution suspects fraudulent activity, they can register a "marker" against a customer's credit report on the National Fraud Database, which is managed by CIFAS. As stated on their website, the markers themselves are not created by CIFAS, but rather by the financial institutions who suspect fraud. CIFAS only provides the infrastructure for these markers to be registered and accessed by other members.

Individuals affected by CIFAS markers have the right to challenge and seek removal of incorrect or unjustified markers. Individuals can do that by submitting a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) to obtain details of the marker and can then contact the organisation that applied the marker to request evidence and removal if necessary. If the organisation denies the request, CIFAS provides an independent review within 14 days, with further options available through the Financial Ombudsman service.

The Home Office has not assessed the number of individuals incorrectly flagged by CIFAS as it does not hold this information.