Cifas

Cifas was established in 1988 by the Consumer Credit Trade Association (CCTA) under the acronym CIFAS: Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System, although the company no longer operates under this acronym as the scope of its services has broadened. It was developed in association with the Office of Fair Trading, as well as the Information Commissioner's Office, who continue to this day to take an active interest in the development of Cifas.

Cifas is today run by a board of directors, which includes both independent directors who are not directly involved in the day-to-day running of the organisation, and the Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer, who are. From 1988 to 2016 the majority of the directors were elected by participating organisations. They now participate in the governance of the organisation through an "Advisory Board".

Victims of identity fraud or people who are at risk of identity fraud can apply for Cifas protective registration for a £30 fee. Protective registration acts as a warning the organisation should (but they are not forced to) carry out additional checks to verify the identity of the applicant or customer. They may just refuse the product or service instead as they consider the fraud risk to be too high.

Cifas used to operate a Protecting the Vulnerable scheme that helped local authorities protect individuals subject to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in their care. This was merged into the Vulnerability Registration Service in 2020.

Fraud databases

Cifas' National Fraud Database allows participating organisations to exchange details of applications for products or services which are considered to be fraudulent, inconsistent or suspicious; exchange information about accounts and services which are being misused; and information about insurance and other claims that are considered to be fraudulent, inconsistent or suspicious.

Organisations can also exchange information about innocent victims of fraud to protect them from further fraud.

Cifas reported that more than 444,000 cases were recorded in the National Fraud Database in 2025. This was the highest yearly total since the database began and a 6% rise on 2024. Facility takeover, in which criminals take control of existing accounts, made up more than 78,000 of these cases, or 18% of all filings.

The Internal Fraud Database allows participating organisations to exchange details of cases where an applicant or member of staff is considered to have acted fraudulently. Individuals suspected of committing fraud can have a fraud marker placed against them, and they may be denied financial services such as mortgages, credit or even phone contracts.

Under the Data Protection Act, an individual has the right to make a subject access request to Cifas, who will, in accordance with the Act and its exemptions, disclose data held on the individual where the law requires it. Cifas is not a credit reference agency but is the data controller for Cifas data and responsible for its accuracy.