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Ask questions first
There are common tactics used by fraudsters, and by following the simple advice below you can minimise the risk of your personal details being stolen and used fraudulently. Begin by asking yourself some questions:
- Ask yourself: "Who is the call/email/letter from and what are they offering?" If it seems too good to be true, that is because it probably is!
- Have you initiated any contact with the person or company that is speaking to you? If not, what details might they reasonably be expected to ask for?
- What precisely are they asking for? Your service providers should never contact you and request passwords or account details, for example.
You will also want to remember:
- To treat your personal data as 'confidential' - don't give it away easily.
- If you have received an email, phone call or equivalent - purporting to be from a company you do business with - and you are unsure of the credibility of this contact, make sure that you cease interaction immediately and contact the company yourself using their website (always type the address into the address bar yourself) or contact numbers provided to you on their official documents.
- Avoid disclosing or writing down any PIN numbers or passwords, and try to avoid using the obvious examples (e.g. dates of birth, mother's maiden name, etc).
- Don't give your personal details to callers, charity collectors or "researchers" in the street. Check whether they are truly who they claim to be before giving them any information. Be just as careful when taking telephone calls.
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Documents
- Take particular care of your handbag or wallet. and avoid keeping credit and debit cards together. Also, avoid carrying documents such as passports unless necessary and never keep them in the same bag as your wallet.
- Shred all documents credit card or bank statements as well as letters from doctors, employers and indeed anything bearing your full name and address or signature. Receipts can also be valuable to a fraudster, so take care to shred these too.
- Examine your bank and credit card statements carefully. Keep all your receipts until you have checked each one individually against the statements. This will help you to monitor your account.
- Keep an eye on your bills and statements and make a note of when they should be arriving. If they don't arrive, inform the organisation concerned.
- Check your credit reference agency file regularly for unfamiliar items and take prompt action if you spot anything strange.
- Redirect ALL post promptly when moving house or business address.
- Keep your home secure, and keep your personal documents locked away. Increasingly, these documents are being searched for by burglars as much as TVs and computers. Theft or loss of documents such as your driving licence or passport should be reported to the relevant bodies and the police immediately.
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Credit cards
- Treat your cards as if they were cash and sign any new cards as soon as you receive them.
- Keep a secure list of all your credit cards, separately (along with account details), so you can notify card issuers quickly in the event that they are lost or stolen.
- Consider making use of a card protection scheme - for a small fee you can register all your bank and credit cards with the scheme. In the event your cards are lost or stolen, they will contact the card suppliers on your behalf.
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Changing address or travelling
- Contact your local authority and enrol on the Electoral Register (also known as the Voters' Roll) at your new address as soon as you can.
- Don't tempt those moving into your old address - a replacement storecard or a mail order catalogue arriving at your old address is a gift to a fraudster.
- Treat your plastic cards, travellers cheques and passports as securely as you would cash. Avoid keeping them in bags such as rucksacks that can easily be opened without you noticing.
- If you plan to be away for some time, inform your bank and other relevant organisations.
- Make sure any post sent to your address is dealt with securely. Consider contacting the Royal Mail about its 'Keepsafe' service.
- At work, double check that your records are kept in a secure location. Your details at work should only be accessed by a few other employees for legitimate reasons.
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PCs and laptops
- Try to use the most up-to-date version of your internet browser. Check that the security settings and browser preferences are at an optimum level. Although most cookies are legitimate, some may contain spyware programs (software that can monitor the actions of a computer user), so only accept cookies that you recognise and want to install.
- Consider installing 'personal firewall' software and anti-virus programmes on your computer to deter hackers and harmful viruses. Update this software regularly. Anti-spyware software can also help protect against harmful spyware and Trojan programs.
- Ensure your PC is protected by keeping up to date with patches and fixes (most PCs can be enabled to do this automatically).
- Consider encrypting any sensitive information you keep on a PC or laptop - many well-known software companies offer free downloads to help you with encryption.
- If you use wireless connections (such as Wi-fi or Bluetooth), avoid connecting to non-secure access points, especially in public places, and if you do, be wary of sending your personal details. Always use a password / number to protect your device, and keep it in non-discoverable mode when not using it.
- If you use internet banking or shop online, avoid using computers that are for communal use, or public wi-fi zones. They may not be as secure as you think.
- Be careful if you store personal information in any portable storage device. It may be compromised if stolen.
- Even after you have deleted files on your PC/laptop, they can still be accessed. Consider obtaining a clean-up utility to overwrite deleted files. This is especially important if you are discarding old equipment. The only way to prevent your data from being retrieved by a fraudster is physical destruction of the equipment. Most local authorities offer a service to do this.
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