Device looks to prevent identity theft rather than react to it

The concept behind the FOB.iD is that it is better to prevent thieves using personal data altogether rather than reacting to fraudulent uses of personal data. Identity theft has grown year-on-year in the UK. The first three months of 2015 saw a 31% increase in the number of victims of this type of crime compared to the same period in 2014.  

Current ID protection services monitor access and alert users when they believe they have noticed an instance of unauthorised access. The FOB.iD relies on differentiating fraudulent use from genuine requests and puts protection in the hands of the individual. The FOB.iD works by completely securing access to personal data as it requests users to manually authorise each attempt to use or access the data in a process that takes seconds. Using this system, unauthorised access is blocked before it ever happens.

James Morrison, Co-founder, FOB.iD, says: “Other services think in terms of damage control. They try to identify fraudulent attempts to access your data and alert their users so they can take steps to stop any further access. Our approach blocks any attempt that is not directly authorised by the FOB.iD user. This way, there is no need to panic when a company has a security breach and personal data such as dates of birth, telephone numbers and credit card and bank account details have been feared stolen. In most cases, the individual is likely to know before the company subjected to cyber crime that security has been compromised.”

The FOB.iD will launch an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign in the near future to raise both funds and awareness of this new product. Early buyers will be offered discounts on the cost of the device and the annual service fee.