Protecting Your Identity

As Christmas approaches, many people shop online to buy gifts, and spend hours decluttering their homes ready for visitors over the festive period. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of Christmas, but are we potentially putting our identity at risk?

At Home

Many families spend the beginning of December preparing their homes for Christmas. Rooms are decluttered to create room for Christmas trees, decorations and cards and it is easy for personal documents such as bank statements to be thrown away accidentally or stored in easily locatable places such as bookcases or drawers.

Any documents with personal details on – name, address, date of birth, National Insurance Number, email address, phone number, or bank details – can be used by criminals to steal your identity. Without your permission or knowledge, new bank accounts could be set up, loans could be taken out and some criminals even use your details to gain employment.

Always ensure confidential documents are stored in an “out of sight” location, and that you know exactly what is stored. It can be tempting to leave paperwork on a bookcase or table, but this leaves your identity vulnerable, particularly if you have visitors during the Christmas holidays. Sadly, more and more cases are occurring where the victim knows the person who committed the identity theft. Storing your documents in a private location can help avoid your details falling into the wrong hands.

If you are disposing of paperwork, ensure that anything with personal details on (even if the details are old/expired) is shredded rather than simply torn into a few pieces and thrown away with general waste.

Online

With more and more people using the internet to buy Christmas gifts, it is important that we protect our online identity also. If shopping online, ensure the websites you are using begin with https (indicating a secure site) and that a padlock symbol appears on your browser (often at the top of the page, but can also be at the bottom). If you are unsure of the site you are browsing on, do not enter your personal details, and shop elsewhere. Keep an eye on your bank statements and report any unusual/unexpected transactions.

If you have a computer in a communal place in your home, check your security settings, particularly if you have guests staying over Christmas. Most of the time, family members or friends using your computer is harmless, but if your email/shopping accounts are always left logged in, other internet users could easily (and accidentally) access personal information or make purchases.

The same applies to games on tablets. Some games (including games aimed at children) offer In App purchases e.g. extra lives or unlocking levels which require payment. These In App purchases are quite quick to agree to (often a simple click of a button if your card details are already logged on the system). If you are allowing someone (especially young children) access to your tablet to play games, ensure the In App purchase option is disabled, or ask them to ask you before agreeing to payment. An unexpected bill in January for In App purchases would not be a great start to 2015!

Protecting your identity will ensure that the only thing you give away this Christmas is presents.