IDENTITY THEFT
To help you prevent identity fraud happening to you:
- Shred any documents that contain personal details e.g. old bank statements, letters bearing personal details, utility bills, credit card statements etc before disposing of them.
- Check your statements as soon as they are received. If you find a transaction on your statement that you did not make, contact us immediately on 0845 300 2511.
- Ensure you are receiving your mail. Fraudsters may try to put a redirection on your post in order to obtain personal information. If you are expecting something through the post and it does not arrive, check your details with Royal Mail.
- Ensure that if you move address, you notify all companies of your new address immediately. The Royal Mail redirection service should be used in addition to updating your address with the companies.
- Check your credit report on a regular basis. This is one of the best ways to ensure that no one else is obtaining credit using your identity. For more information visit www.equifax.co.uk, www.experian.co.uk or www.callcredit.co.uk
CARD FRAUD
To help you prevent card fraud happening to you:
- Don't divulge your PIN number to anyone
- Don't allow anyone else to use your card.
- Don't write your Pin number down in any format.
- Don't allow someone to offer you assistance when using the ATM.
- Use an ATM which is in a welllit and busy area.
- Keep your card in your possession or in a secure location.
- Look around you before using the ATM. If any devices are fitted to the machine it is likely that the people who installed it are watching the machine. If anyone in the area appears to be acting suspiciously do not use the ATM machine.
- Check the card reader slot and PIN pad for signs of devices being fitted or tampering. Do not use the machine if there is an overlay on the PIN pad or if anything else seems suspicious.
- Stand close to the ATM machine and and use your spare hand to cover up the key pad when entering your PIN.
- Make sure you secure your cash, card and receipt before leaving the ATM.
- Report any suspicions to the financial organisation which owns the machine immediately. If you suspect that the ATM is not working properly, press cancel and remove your card.
- Tell us in advance when and where you are going on holiday. This will allow us to identify transactions that may not have been made by you during your holiday. We recommend that you take at least two forms of payment method with you when you go on holiday e.g two of credit card(s), debit card(s), travellers cheques, foreign currency.
VERIFIED BY VISA - PROTECTION ONLINE
VbV is a vital free service available to our Visa debit card holders providing extra protection when shopping on the internet. It works by asking you for a pre-registered password before your transaction is completed. This is designed to stop fraudulent use of your card and to make online shopping even more secure, as only you will know your personal password.
Even if you don't shop on the internet, in the wrong hands your card details could still be used to shop on the internet. Therefore, it is important that you register your card with VbV for additional security immediately. Find out more...
CHEQUE FRAUD
Here are some tips to help you prevent cheque fraud happening to you:
- Don't keep your chequebook and cheque guarantee cards together.
- Keep your cheque book in a secure location.
- To help prevent fraud clearly write the name of the person you are paying a cheque next to the word 'payee'. Never make the cheque payable to only the name of a financial institution, always write the name of the account holder or their account number as well.
OTHER TIPS
- When N&P calls customers we verify that we are talking to the correct person by asking security questions including personal details. If you have a telephone password set up on your account we will only ever ask you for random characters of this password, not the complete password. If you do not have a telephone password, then we will ask other security questions.
- Know who you are talking to before disclosing any personal information. If you are called by us or any other organisation and you want to be sure that it is a legitimate caller before giving out any security information, ask for the caller's full name, department and full contact number. You will then be able to contact us on our telephone number, which you can obtain independently from your bank statement, VISA debit card, our website, directory enquiries or ring us on 0845 300 2511 and ask to be transferred to the person who called you.
- Make sure N&P has your up to date residential address and/or e-mail address.
- Make sure N&P has an up to date contact number for you in order that we can phone you if we have concerns about a transaction on your account.
MORE TIPS ON PROTECTING YOURSELF AGAINST FRAUD
CIFAS is the UK's fraud prevention service and further information about protecting yourself and what to do if you are a victim of identity theft can be located on their website www.cifas.org.uk.
The CIFAS website gives details of the CIFAS Protective Registration service, which can be used if you believe your identity may be misused, for example when documentation like your passport has been stolen. For more details, visit the CIFAS website.
For further advice and information on how to protect yourself from fraud, you may find the following websites helpful:
www.cardwatch.org.uk
www.bankingcode.org.uk
www.consumerdirect.gov.uk
www.visaeurope.com
www.identity-theft.org.uk
www.royalmail.com
www.getsafeonline.org
www.banksafeonline.org.uk