It is vital that you take measures to protect your financial details from theft and fraud. There are many steps that you can take to ensure your money is not at risk unnecessarily, such as keeping your credit and debit cards safe in a zipped pocket or purse, memorising passwords and PIN numbers and keeping your account details secret. These measures are explained in Basic Security Guidelines.
When you use internet banking to manage your current account, ensure that you keep any login details secret. If you receive a suspicious e-mail or telephone call and are asked to provide security details relating to your account, do not give any information relating to your account. You may be sent an e-mail that is appears to be from your bank, however, your bank or building society will never request your secure information via e-mail, nor via telephone. Even if you are a telephone banking customer, you will speak to a series of telephone operators and will never be required to give one person all your details. Internet fraud is explained in Phishing and Internet Banking Security.
If you have lost your account details or your account card or if they have been stolen, you must inform your banking institution as soon as possible to enable them to freeze your account and prevent any unauthorised withdrawals. For more details see Lost or Stolen Electronic Card.
