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 Even if the details on the paperwork are out of date, it could still be used by a criminal. 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!