Protect yourself from online identity fraud
With Identity fraud affecting more than 100,000 consumers every year - identity theft has become a fact of life. Don’t let it happen to you. By following the simple steps outlined below when banking and shopping online, you can help prevent thieves from accessing your personal and financial information.
Tips for keeping personal information safe.
When giving information about yourself online you should:
1. Always tick the ‘keep information private box’ to ensure that the company you have provided information to does not pass on your details to third parties.
2. Don’t enter any personal information on a Website that does not have a Web address that starts with ‘https://‚‚‚ and ensure there is a small yellow padlock in the frame of the web browser window.
3. Do your research and know who you are dealing with before you make a purchase for goods or services. If you are not familiar with the company, make sure the telephone and address is shown on the website and call them before you buy.
4. Never give anyone your user ID, PIN or password, even if they appear to be a representative of a trusted firm such as your bank or telephone provider.
5. Be wary of emails that appear to come from banks, credit card or other trusted companies, asking you to update security information. Banks will never communicate with you in this way;
6. Don’t give out personal information unless you initiated the contact and are sure you know who you’re dealing with. You wouldn’t disclose this information to someone in the street so why do it online;
7. Always type in the Web address of trusted Websites into the browser yourself instead of clicking on the links in emails. This will ensure that you have not been redirected to a hoax site;
8. Avoid using your real name and date of birth online (e.g. on social networking sites);
Keep all logins and passwords safe; avoid using obvious passwords such as your date of birth.
9. Be cautious of ‘fast friends’ that you meet online and ask you to reveal personal information;
10. Be wary of disclosing personal information on a work or personal Website;
11. Use secure, trusted Websites when shopping online.
If you have been a victim of identity theft, contact fraud prevention service Cifas at www.cifas.org.uk For a fee of £14.10 a year, they will add a symbol to your name that alerts lenders when anyone applies for credit from your address.
For more information about online security visit: www.getsafeonline.org
