Theft of private information.

[skeeeen]

Hello all,

During the Chritsmas period I took all my paperwork in my car to take to my parents house to shred over the break. I never did it in the end and was lumbering about with all my paperwork in the boot of my car.

The boot of my car is covered so you cant see whats inside. Due to pure laziness I never took it out to store in the house.

My car got broken into and they took my bag which had paperwork. From what I can remember what was in this stolen paperwork:
1) Letter from home office regarding receipt of my citizenship they have taken their money)
2) my Biomertic letter with receipt which i completed at the post office
3) originals of evidence used for my citizenship, as I used the checking service. Origanl P60's and degree, copy of my life in the UK
4) other personal paperwork, credit card statements, birth certificate, random letters from store cards etc, pension letter, current wage slips
5)there is one old picture of me

They have my current address and previous address in this.

My questions are
-should I inform HO of the theft?
-will this affect my citizenship app / prolong it i dont have my current ref number now
-due to the nature of the contents stolen what pre cautions should I take to prevent misuse of my data (I have done the obvious one's have called the police, have made a report , i have a crime reference number, and have called all my credit cards and banks to make a note on my acc) but I dont know if there is anything else i have missed.

I appreciate any help. I'd hate to be a victim of identity theft now.
Many Thanks

[Casa]

I'm confused. Why would you shred important/official documents? Inform the police if you believe a crime has been committed. I doubt that the HO will be interested.

[skeeeen]

It as not my intention to shred EVERYHTING, i just gathered all my paperwork and was going to go through it. keep important information and shred the rest, credit card statements, letters etc....

but with regards the home office, As long as this wn have any affect on my citizenship app, or identity fraud I am happy to do nothing.

[Wanderer]

Strip-cut or cross-cut?

[skeeeen]

I did not get a chance to shred anthing,
I just left my paperwork in my car.

[secret.simon]

Strip-cut or cross-cut?

I think Wanderer was exploring the thoroughness and quality of the proposed shredding, which never materialised.

Have you contacted the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)?

[skeeeen]

Hi Secret Simon

No I have not contacted them. Contact them and day what? The website had a lot of content I wasnt sure where to look, please can you guide me.

[Fahad460]

Hi Secret Simon

No I have not contacted them. Contact them and day what? The website had a lot of content I wasnt sure where to look, please can you guide me.

You can call them at 0303 123 1113 or you can report your concern at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/

[secret.simon]

I was only making a light hearted joke.

Provided you have lost only your own information, you do not need to contact the Information Commissioner's Office. They are only involved if you were responsible for managing other people's data. Think businesses that have other people's addresses, etc.