Keep your information safe
Identity theft is when fraudsters steal your personal or financial information, and use this to impersonate you, open bank accounts, obtain credit or set up businesses.
What to look out for
- Bills, invoices or receipts addressed to you for goods or services you haven't ordered
- Letters from solicitors or debt collection agencies about debts that aren't yours
- Letters or statements for bank accounts that you haven't opened
- Transactions on your bank statements (normally withdrawals) that you don't recognise
- New accounts showing up on your credit report
- Documents going missing such as your passport, driving licence, utility bills or bank statements
How to keep your identity secure
- Keep valuable documents secure
- Destroy all unwanted paperwork - it's best to shred documents if you can
- Keep us updated with your contact information so we can get in touch with you if we detect any suspicious activity on your accounts
- Check your statements for any suspicious transactions
- Don't respond to any unexpected or suspicious emails, text messages or phone calls
- Check your credit report regularly
Protecting the identity of deceased family members
Fraudsters sometimes use the identities of people who have died, which can be very distressing for those close to the deceased. You can reduce the chance of this happening by ensuring such details are removed from mailing lists.