Scammers and fraudsters are increasingly getting more savvy on ways of getting people’s money and personal details. To protect yourself, it’s important that you’re alert and take simple steps to safeguard your personal information which can help reduce your risk of identity theft.
- Keep your personal information secure – make sure your personal information is up to date with your bank, utility companies, tax office etc. This ensures that mail that is sent to you, will get to you. Put a lock on your mailbox, and shred bills and important documents before throwing it in the bin.
- Be careful of requests for your details or money – do not reply to suspicious texts or emails asking for you to verify your details, send money or give banking details to anyone you don’t know and trust. If you receive an SMS/email asking for this, call the company to verify the legitimacy of the communication.
- Limit your personal information shared on social media – limit what you share on social media as scammers can use your photo and details to create a fake identity. You can limit who can view your social profile through your privacy and security settings on social media.
- Password protect your mobile and computers – your devices may hold a lot of personal information about who you are. Make sure you password protect your devices choosing passwords that would be hard for someone to guess, and update them regularly.
Visit ACCC Scamwatch website for more information on how to protect yourself against scams and where to get help.
At Credit24, we’re committed to keeping our customers safe and secure. If you’re suspicious of someone using your details to apply for a loan with us, please contact our team at letstalk@credit24.com.au.