BT has hooked up with Card Protection Plan Limited (CPP) to flog insurance to protect punters against ID theft.

For £50 a year, users are covered for up to £50,000 to help meet the cost of restoring their identity if it's nicked via online fraud, "bin raiders" looking for statements and receipts, or by skimming credit cards.

If needed, the £50,000 can be used for expenses such as legal fees, lost wages and costs for rejected loan fees.

The insurance cover also includes BT/CPP keeping an eye on individual credit reports and alerting punters to anything suspicious.

Last week, the National Consumer Council (NCC) called for the creation of dedicated ID fraud customer helpdesks to help victims of ID theft.

It wants businesses - especially banks, insurance companies, credit providers, phone and utility companies - to give ID fraud victims more help and to set up dedicated ID fraud customer helpdesks.

Crucially, the NCC believes it is firms that should bear the cost of these helpdesks - not the consumer. ®