Protect Your Identity This Christmas

Christmas can be a busy time, not only with the arrival of visitors and a Christmas dinner to cook, but also with the seasonal additions of decorations, cards, Christmas trees and presents taking up space in our homes.

During this busy time it can be easy for our identity and confidential data to become vulnerable. 

To stay safe this Christmas, consider the following:

Bank cards and personal documents like passports are fairly small and could easily fall into the rubbish (or into the wrong hands) if left lying around. Store your cards and passports/ID cards/drivers license somewhere safe and out of sight (particularly if you or your children are hosting a Christmas party).

Any confidential paperwork such as bank statements and pay slips can easily be mixed up with rubbish and mistakenly thrown away. Create a filing system to store your paperwork in and keep a record of what you are storing. Again, for added security, store out of sight.

If you are disposing of any old paperwork, shred it instead of throwing out with general waste. Even if the details on the paperwork are out of date, it could still be used by a criminal. 

8 Tips For Christmas Confidentiality

Christmas is a busy time of year, and it is easy to become distracted with festive events such as shopping, wrapping gifts and school nativities. With our minds elsewhere, it is important that we do not let our confidential information fall into the wrong hands.

8 Tips For Christmas Confidentiality

Follow these tips to ensure your identity remains safe this Christmas.

1) Store your confidential documents in a secure location. Do not leave items such as bank cards and statements, pay slips and passports lying around your house.

2) Shred any unwanted confidential documents.

3) Only use secure websites when buying online. Look for https at the beginning of the web address and for a small padlock symbol.

4) Monitor your bank accounts and report any suspicious activity.

5) Do not give out bank details over the phone even if the caller claims to be a trusted source. Many scammers claim to have your bank details on their system to tempt you into giving your details.

6) Do not use the same password for all online accounts. Ensure passwords are strong and not easily guessed.

7) If sharing access to your computer this Christmas ensure all online accounts have their “remember me” password facility disabled. This will prevent unwanted access to emails, social media accounts etc. If possible, set up a separate log in for guests to use.

8) Turn off the “In App Purchase” feature on tablets if you are letting others (especially children) use your tablet over Christmas – this will prevent any purchases (e.g. for games) being made from your bank account. In App purchases can soon add up and leave tablet owners with a drained bank account.

We hope you have found these tips useful. Wishing you a safe and secure Christmas!

A Confidential Christmas

With Christmas decorations, festive songs, school Christmas shows and presents to wrap, it is easy to get caught up in the spirit of Christmas. Many people consider Christmas as a time for giving, but what if you are giving away your confidential information as well as cards and gifts?

With more and more people falling victim to identity theft, it is important that you try and do all you can to protect yourself, your family and your business from falling victim too.

Secure Storage And Shredding

Avoid leaving confidential documents lying around – keep them stored in a secure location and if possible keep a record of what you are storing. If you remove documents from this location, ensure they are returned once you have finished with them. Keep an eye on bank statements/online accounts and report any unusual or incorrect transactions. If you are having an “open house” over Christmas, ensure your confidential files are stored out of sight.

Criminals can easily build a picture of you (and steal your identity) from documents such as bank statements, so if you are disposing of any “identity sensitive” paperwork, ensure it is shredded rather than simply torn up and thrown away with general waste.

Check Websites And Passwords

With many of us using computers for work and leisure, online identity theft is on the increase. When browsing the internet, especially if making Christmas present purchases online, ensure the website is secure (look for the https at the beginning of the website link and a padlock symbol in the browser window frame).

Email and social media accounts are often hacked when passwords are “weak” e.g. birthdays or names. Ensure your passwords are as strong as possible, using combinations of capital letters, numbers and lowercase letters. Although it is tempting to write your passwords or PINs down, consider what could happen if those details fell into the wrong hands.

If you are concerned about your confidentiality this Christmas, contact Cube Records Management Services to find out how we can help you. 

Christmas Office Clearout

With December soon to be upon us, lots of offices will be putting up decorations to create a festive working environment during the build up to Christmas.

However, when it comes to taking them down, should it only be the decorations that we tidy away? Take a moment to look around your office. Is your office a welcoming environment? Are work spaces tidy? Are your documents and files stored neatly?

With many businesses winding down over the Christmas period, why not take an opportunity to have a good Christmas Office Clearout?

Take time to sort through your office files and documentation. Are they stored neatly? What provisions are in place for protecting confidential documents? Should confidential files be left on office desks?   

If you have documents to dispose of, ensure they are disposed of correctly. Confidential waste should not be thrown out with regular waste. To avoid risking the security of your data, ensure confidential files that are no longer required are shredded and put in confidential waste sacks.  

Taking the time to have a good office clearout prior to the Christmas break will enable you to return after Christmas to a clearer and smoother running office environment.

Will you be having an office clearout this Christmas?

Business Space Saving

As businesses grow, our offices become filled with more documents and records. Often the temptation is to look for a bigger office, but this isn't always feasible - particularly if suitable premises in desired areas are not available or out of price range. 

An alternative to relocation is Cube Records Management Services (Cube RMS). Our secure, state of the art facility offers advanced protection for your data, documents, records and media. 

With 24 hour access 7 days a week through an on-line portal, each client is able to have all the benefits of off-site storage without losing contact with the data when they need it.

So before considering moving your business to make more space - why not consider Cube RMS for your secure, offsite document storage needs? 

Document Security

At home, we often have a "secret place" to store away our important documents such as passports and birth certificates. In offices, documents relating to clients and the company are also stored safely, but can we guarantee 100% security?

Our previous blog post "5 Reasons To Outsource Your Document Storage" raised some good points regarding data management and security, and that is why Cube Records Management Services (RMS) may be the perfect solution for your company's document storage needs.

Cube Records Management Services - what do we do?

At Cube RMS we understand and recognise the cost and time involved in managing your records. For these reasons we offer you a simple and secure means of storing your business  information.

Collection: We collect your documents, cartons, files or electronic media and transport them securely. Your records are then stored in our specialist record

storage facility.


Security: Your records are secured, with strict access control and admission from vetted staff members only.


Tracking: To make tracking easy, we give each record its own unique reference label and enter it into our online database.


Access: You can request access to a record via our online system 24/7.


Retrieving Your Records: We offer a next day or emergency retrieval service for all of your archived records.

Record Disposal: We can shred, recycle or destroy the items upon request should you need to dispose of your records.



Visit our website www.cuberms.com for more details, contact us via our online form, or give a member of our friendly team a call on 0800 027 2668.