Steps To Beat ID Fraud

Thanks to the Child Benefit Office, there could be a huge risk of ID fraud for 25million people. What steps can we all take to combat ID fraud generally?

1 - Tell people if you have moved address. Tell anyone who might bill you, preferably just before you move. Also set up postal redirects for all mail to your new address. Don't risk old mail going astray. A recent utility bill is all a fraudster needs to prove they are you.

2 - Have someone watch your home. Going on holiday? Make sure that a neighbour knows and ensure that mail is fully pushed through the letterbox.

3 - Shred paperwork. Shred receipts, old statements and bills and even pre filled credit card applications that arrive through your door. If the paperwork has more details than the phone book (name & address) - for example card numbers, holiday dates then shred it. There are scams aimed at people returning from holidays - don't fall prey to them.

4 - Watch your cards. In shops watch what happens to your card. Preferably place it into the machine yourself and do not allow the assistant to take it out of your line of sight for even a second.

5 - Protect your pin. Choose something you can remember, but no one else could guess. Patterns, dates of birth etc can all be guessed. Think the criminals only have a few attempts to guess your pin on a cloned card? Think again. They can take a couple of guesses then leave the card for a week - until you have successfully used the card and reset the count. Then they can try again.

6 - Protect your internet banking. Again, choose random / impossible to guess passwords. Know where to look once you have signed on for the number of recent failed signon attempts (usually shown on the first screen after sign on) and check that is 0 (unless you have messed up a sign on).

7 - Secure your connection. Make sure your internet connection for internet banking is totally secure. Use wired over wireless; ensure adequate firewall & virus protection etc (preferable have virus protection installed on your PC & have your ISP scan for viruses); don't loggon in internet cafes.

8 - Ignore phishing emails. We're displaying enough - so you know what they are like! Don't click on them in case they install spyware. If you do never enter details.

9 - Change passwords. When did you last change your passwords? And do you use the one password does all approach? Make sure that if someone discovers one password they don't have access to your entire finances!

10 - Check your credit report. Sign up for the free Experian Credit check service and keep an eye on credit applications and report anything that looks strange.