Money hacks How to protect yourself from identity theft

‘On social media it’s best to keep settings on the highest privacy level on all accounts, including LinkedIn’

- Sandra Haurant

Safeguard information

“The most important thing is safeguarding your personal information, whether it’s biographical or sign-on credentials – for online banking or Amazon, or anything like that. If someone gets access to one of your financial products, that can open up more opportunities for them,” says James Jones, the head of consumer affairs at the credit reference agency Experian. “Keep the lid tightly closed on personal information.”

There is so much about all of us online, says Amber Burridge, the head of intelligence at the fraud prevention body Cifas.

“Criminals will not just look at one source – they will look at links between the sources and social media accounts,” she says.

“On social media, it’s best to keep settings on the highest privacy level on all accounts, including LinkedIn, which we don’t always think of in the same terms as the likes of Facebook.”

Hang up on fraudsters

“If you get an unsolicited call or message purporting to be from a trusted organisation, hang up and call them on a number that you know to be theirs,” Burridge says. And if friends or family contact you asking for financial help, get in touch straight away – they may have been targeted by fraudsters.

One of the latest forms of fraud is where people are contacted on WhatsApp, or via text, by crooks claiming to be family, saying they have lost their mobile and access to online banking to pay bills.

If in doubt, don’t click