IDENTITY THEFT

Identity fraud is where someone steals your personal details to con you out of
money. It can happen when you're not using the internet, for example, if you
lose important documents such as your passport or driving licence. But if you
aren't careful with your personal details when you go online, you could easily
become the victim of identity fraud. For example, a fraudster could get hold of
your credit card details and use them to buy things over the internet or
withdraw money from your account. Or they could get hold of your address
and bank details and use them to borrow money.

To avoid being caught out by identity fraud, be careful about which companies
you give your email address to online. Before you buy or sign up to anything
online, check out the privacy policy of the company and make sure they
won't send your details to other companies if you don't want them to. Also, be
careful about the passwords you choose. Don't use whole words because
these are easier for a fraudster to find out. It's safer to use a combination of
letters and numbers