Fighting Identity Theft
10 simple ways to keep your financial details safe
6: Dont write down your PIN numbers or passwords - instead, change them to something more memorable. Apart from being a security risk, writing down your PIN could actually make you liable for any theft from your account, as you were not taking due care over security.
7: Banks will never ask for personal details via email. Don't respond to these emails, as they will almost certainly be sent by criminals. Similarly, be suspicious of anyone who asks for your financial details for any reason, and satisfy yourself that they are genuine before handing over sensitive information.
8: Keep your anti-virus software up to date, as some viruses scour your computer for passwords and account details before 'phoning home' to hackers with this information.
9: Always examine your bank and credit card statements so that you spot anything untoward - remember, the quicker you spot any fraudulent activity the less damage can be caused.
10: Check your credit record to make sure that your identity hasn't already been stolen, and consider signing up to a monitoring service that will alert you to any changes in your credit file.
You can't protect yourself completely from identity fraud, but following the steps above should make you unlikely to be affected, as fraudsters, like most criminals, will only go for 'easy' victims.
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