Worried about identity fraud?
Many of our customers have expressed concern about identity fraud or theft. This is a very valid concern as more and more of your personal and business transactions are made online.
Here are a few useful tips to help you keep a check on your identity and prevent your identity from being stolen whilst you use the Internet to transact your business:
- Keep tabs on your personal credit file by requesting information from one of the three agencies below, a small fee is required (look for any mistakes which you can request to be corrected OR information that does not belong to you!):
Experian (www.experian.com)- Telephone 0844 481 8000
Equifax (www.equifax)- Telephone 08700 100 583
Callcredit (www.callcredit.co.uk)- Telephone 0113 244 1555 - However, you can get a single report from the following company who provides information from all three of the above agencies (in addition you can even subscribe to receive a copy of your report every quarter if you want to monitor your credit file regularly)
checkmyfile (www.checkmyfile.com)- Telephone 0800 612 0421
If you have any special circumstances that may be effecting your credit file information, for example you may have a dispute with a store card which is showing as unpaid debt, you can ask for a note to be added to your file explaining the special circumstances as to why you may have failed to pay this debt. Remember to check that this information has been updated once your dispute has been resolved!
Other ways with which fraudsters can get access to your private information and things you need to watch out for include:
- Emails containing links to login to your bank account, eBay account, Protx account, etc. Reputable companies WILL NEVER ask you for you to do this by email. So even though you may click it and a site appears that looks genuine, look in the address bar. Usually the address bar will show fake information and not be the usual address you would expect to see!
- Whenever you login to a website that contains personal/private information e.g. Bank the website should have a padlock displayed near the address bar. This shows that the website is using secure data transmission between your computer and there web server. Using this method no data can be seen by others as it is scambled. You can also click this link to get a summary display showing that the secure certificate is valid, belongs to the company you expect it to belong to and that it hasn't expired (as they are usually re-issued on an annual basis)
Please Note
This information is not intended to constitute legal advice. Such advice can only be given by a professional advisor. No duty of care is assumed to any person and no liability is accepted in respect of the contents of this information. Please contact your own professional advisor to discuss your own specific requirements.