Improving security at home

• Keep personal documents in a safe place and destroy important unwanted documents like bank statements, ATM receipts, bills and mail which includes personal information. If you haven't got a shredder why not burn them with your garden rubbish?
  

• Be cautious if someone contacts you unexpectedly to confirm your personal details. If you doubt that the call is genuine, then ask if you can call them back on a number that you know to be correct, such as through a switchboard number.
  

• Stop and think how a company would normally contact you - a bank or building society would never ask you for your personal identification number (PIN) or for a whole security number or password over the phone or via email.
  

• If you move house, make sure that you tell all of the companies that send personal information to you in the post and consider having your post redirected. Post is valuable information in the wrong hands.
  

• Check statements regularly for suspicious entries or transactions, and tell us straight away if something is wrong.
  

• Report lost or stolen ATM cards and passbooks immediately so that we can protect your accounts.
  

• Don't write down your card and security information (PIN number and/or password). Keep them secret.
  

• Report lost or stolen documents, such as passports, driving licences, credit cards and chequebooks to the organisation that issued them.
  

• Consider regularly obtaining copies of your personal credit file from a credit reference agency and check your credit file for irregular or unexpected entries.
  

• Take care when writing personal cheques - always ensure that the payee details include your name (including initials) and draw a line through any unused space on the payee line.
  

• If you are requesting a cheque payable to another financial institution do not make the cheque simply payable to the organisation include the payees account number and named (including initials).
  

• Never accept cheques or banker's drafts from someone unless you know and trust them - consider other options for payments, especially for high value goods.
  

• If you withdraw a cheque from your account and it is no longer required return it immediately for re crediting to your account. Don't let it fall into the wrong hands.

Call us on 0845 1 200 100*

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