How to keep your bank details safe

It is very important to keep your bank details safe and secure. In 2019 £824M was lost to fraud in the UK. 

Thankfully banks, financial companies, the police, the government and Trading Standards are taking steps to prevent fraudsters from gaining access to people’s money. Also, there are lots of very simple methods that you can use to keep your bank details safe from fraudsters. 

Bank Cards

48% of fraud occurs by accessing people’s bank card. 

Only use your bank card to purchase from websites you trust and know are legitimate. Dodgy websites may contain poor spelling/grammar, bad reviews, have a poor layout, an incorrect URL or bad quality or irrelevant images. A secure website will have https: at the start of the website address. This stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure and ensures that your data is safe. 

If you need to give your bank account information or card details over the phone  (don’t worry there are legitimate reasons why you may need to do this such as paying a bill or buying something over the phone) make sure you know who it is you are speaking to. Ask for the person’s name (they may only be allowed to give you their first name due to GDPR) and which organisation they are from. If they phoned you make sure you know that they have called from a real organisation. If you are unsure ask if you can call them back and double-check the number on the organisation’s website. Genuine organisations won’t mind if you do this. 

Your PIN number should be a completely random number. Avoid using numbers that can be easily guessed such as important dates or your birth year. You can easily change your PIN number at an ATM. 

Never share your bank card PIN number with anyone. Only you should know it and it is advised that you do not let friends or family know what it is. No one should ever ask you for your PIN number including the bank, the police, finance companies, shops etc. If anyone ever asks you for your PIN number do not give it to them as it is probably a scam. 

When you are inputting your PIN number in a shop or at an ATM keep it covered and make sure no one is looking. 

Bank Account

If you use mobile banking do not connect to the app if you are using public WIFI or WIFI that you are unfamiliar with. Use your mobile data or wait until you are using your own WiFi. This is because it is easier for fraudsters to hack into public WiFi.

If you are using an ATM make sure there are no signs of tampering and that nothing looks out of place. Thieves can sometimes place a device called a skimmer inside an ATM which copies your card details. Although these are difficult to detect some warning signs are marks or scratches around the card reader, if anything on the ATM moves or is loose (ATM’s are usually pretty sturdy) or if the plastic is a different colour. If you are in doubt don’t use it and contact the company that manages the ATM to let them know. 

You should regularly check your bank account and any withdrawals that have taken place. If there are any you do not recognise you should immediately get it checked. Remember some companies use a different trading name which is usually what appears on your bank account. Ask your bank to look into any withdrawals you don’t recognise. 

If you receive written communication from the bank I.e letters, bank statements etc make sure you dispose of this securely. It is best to tear the letter up or shred it before binning it. This is because fraudsters have been known to look in people’s bins to try to find letters containing personal information or bank details.