Protecting yourself against identity theft

Identity theft can be distressing and costly to sort out. Here’s what you need to know, and how to prevent it happening - online, on the phone, or in person.

Identity theft is when your personal and financial information is illegally obtained by fraud or deception – typically for financial gain.

Often information can be quite simple and seemingly harmless, such as:

Your date of birth

Email address

Home address

Previous addresses

Mother’s maiden name

Your place of birth

Your middle name

And of course, there are the obviously sensitive details, such as:

Your bank PIN number

Bank account details

National Insurance number

Account passwords

Your credit card or debit card information

The most common form of identity theft is financial fraud, which could include:

Opening a bank account in your name

Applying for credit and debit cards

Taking out loans

Hacking into your existing accounts

Buying things in your name

Taking out a contract using your identity (e.g. for a mobile phone)

But thieves have even been known to commit other sinister crimes, such as applying for benefits in your name or applying for a passport or driving licence.

Even the most diligent consumer can be targeted by fraud, but there are ways to help prevent it:

Online or phone phishing scams are when emails are sent or calls are made to try and coax victims into giving out sensitive information. These can often be very convincing.

It’s worth noting that your bank will never ask you for your whole PIN number, password, login details or account numbers. If you’re at all suspicious of a phone call, ask if you can call them back on a phone number that you know is legitimate. Then only call them using a mobile phone or after calling a friend or relative, in case the original caller stays on the line.

This doesn’t just apply to emails and calls. Never disclose personal information such as your date of birth or your middle name on social media. One common mistake people make is to include their year of birth in their social media handle or email.

As well as only accepting people you actually know on Facebook, it’s also important to not immediately accept duplicate friend requests from people you do know. This is because fraudsters have been known to clone accounts by stealing personal information and then requesting their friends.

If you do receive a friend request from someone you’re already friends with, always double check that it’s really them, by contacting them through an email or phone number that you know is theirs.

Make sure that you’re not giving away any information publicly. All your settings should be set to private.

And double-check you’re not posting pictures that contain sensitive information such as your car licence plate number. This is in case someone duplicates your licence plate and incurs congestion zone charges, parking tickets or speeding offences in your name.

Many types of identity theft can be done through the simple means of collecting papers thrown in your rubbish bin or recycling. Your date of birth, address, telephone numbers, and driver’s license number are all pieces of information easily found on letters, documents, bank statements and even pre-approved credit offers.

And try to vary passwords between sites. That way, if one site is hacked, your other passwords haven’t been compromised. There are various tools that will generate strong passwords randomly for you.

And never use obviously guessable password such as ‘12345’ or ‘password’. These will be the first things identity thieves will try. Also avoid making financial transactions on shared or public computers.

Criminals can clone your debit or credit card either at a shop, bar or restaurant. Don’t let your card out of sight and cover your PIN. Avoid using standalone ATMs or those in secluded outdoor areas, in case a skimming device has been added. You can check for signs of tampering by looking for different materials, colours and graphics that don’t appear original. If in doubt, move on.

You can also protect your cards by registering them with apps like Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode.

Don’t leave bills and papers with sensitive information lying about at work or even at home. If you’re burgled these are easily swiped if they’re lying out on a table or visible through a window, for instance.

If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. If you receive an email claiming you're owed a refund, step carefully. Never automatically click on a link in an unexpected email or text.

And that means on your computer, your phone and even your router. It’s also important to keep your phone software up to date as it contains vital security updates that help protect your devices from cyber criminals.

Invest in a wireless router with strong security features from a trusted vendor. Make sure your Wi-Fi access is restricted to known devices only, or make your network non-discoverable so that other devices cannot find it without knowing the network name.