First transmitted in October 2004
Last year, 100,000 people in Britain had their identities stolen. This gripping, fact-based drama takes a look at one of the fastest-growing crimes in Britain today – identity fraud. Based on detailed research drawn from a number of actual cases, this is the story of a complex scam organised by a gang of fraudsters, and the determined efforts of two young CID officers to stop them. Revealing the disturbingly simple methods used by the fraudsters, this is an eye-opening and unsettling account of an all-too-common phenomenon.

Stealing Lives shows how identity fraud allows Eze Achinewu and his gang to make large amounts of money for very little effort. All they need is a name, a vacant address, some forged ID and the occasional false reference, and they can obtain bank loans and credit cards and run up extensive debts that other, innocent, people are then liable for.

Catching the fraudsters is a hugely complex and time-consuming job, involving hard work, little glamour and few convictions. The film reveals how experienced police officers are often reluctant to tackle such cases, which, if handled at all, are dealt with by inexperienced, junior-ranking officers.

Behind the drama lie the fundamental aspects of identity. From the anonymous statistics we've all become on the screens of big institutions, to the culture-clash between economically excluded African nations and the exploitable debt-culture of the West. Identity fraud today is used to fund drug trafficking and even terrorism. The film reveals how the scam was perpetrated and explores the motivations that led the offenders to commit such an audacious crime.

To find out more about identity fraud, including measures that you can take to protect yourself against it and how to respond to suspected fraud, check out our list of websites and reading.

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