THE MILLIONAIRE who founded the Allsports retail chain has told how he became the victim of identity thieves.

The conmen tried to cash in an endowment policy belonging to David Hughes, who lives in Chelford, after obtaining details of his bank accounts.

The 58-year-old said: "If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. In our quest for freedom of information, things are available on the internet that weren't a couple of years ago, which has made it so much easier for criminals. This has irritated me greatly."

Mr Hughes founded his sports goods empire in 1977 with a branch in Wilmslow. It fell into administration in 2005 and was sold to Bury-based J D Group after an unsuccessful rescue deal.

Describing how his ID fraud ordeal unfolded, he said: "Information about my name, address, postcode, date of birth and directorships was obtained legitimately, but this was then used to obtain details of my bank accounts and mortgage payments.

"No money was stolen from me, but then recently there was an attempt to cash in an endowment policy worth tens of thousands of pounds.

"The fraudster posed as me and told the endowment company I had moved to an address in London and asked for the money to be paid into another account.

"Fortunately, an alert call centre operator was suspicious and contacted me to seek verification."

At least one prosecution is understood to be pending in relation to the matter.

Mr Hughes' fraud ordeal comes amid mounting concern about the prevalence of ID theft against individuals and businesses.

He urged members of the public to ensure they have passwords relating to their accounts, and policies to ensure security and thwart would-be fraudsters.