In the modern age it is far easier for fraud to occur than ever before. Don’t let your personal details fall into the wrong hands as it can be used to steal your identity.
We have all heard about people whose social media accounts have been hacked, causing distress and plenty of lost time in fixing the issue. Imagine the stress and potential consequences of your bank or other financial accounts being compromised!
If your identity has been stolen you may not become aware of it for some time. Some signs to be aware of include receiving mail that isn’t expected, unusual bills or charges appearing on your bank statement, receiving calls or emails about services you’ve never used, or having strange emails appear in your inbox.
It’s important to act fast if you think your identity has been stolen.
- Report the matter to the police through your local police department.
- Contact your bank so our accounts can be blocked and any linked credit or debit cards closed. This will stop scammers from getting access to your money.
- Change all your passwords immediately.
- Report it to any websites and social media accounts that may have been compromised.
- Alert your family and friends.
Fortunately, there are some simple changes you can make to protect yourself from identity theft and fraud.
- Secure your mail – put a lock on your mailbox so your mail can’t be compromised.
- Use public computers with caution.
- Be careful on social media, especially if your profile is public. Fraudsters can potentially find out where you live, where you work and your age through your posts.
- Use strong passwords with a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. This makes it harder for people to hack into your account.
- Use virus protection software to help protect you if someone tries to access our information or you click on a suspicious link.
- Monitor your bank transactions and report any unusual activity.
Scammers and fraudsters have been around forever and are continually finding new ways to infiltrate people’s identities and finances.
Be vigilant and make common sense changes to the way you deal with your information to reduce the risk as much as possible.
You need to consider with your financial planner (or adviser), your objectives, financial situation and your particular needs prior to making an investment decision. Sensibly Pty Ltd and its authorised representatives (or credit representatives) do not accept liability for any errors or omissions of information supplied on this website
Nick Shanley, Steve May, Luke Styles and Shanley Financial Planning T/A Steve May Financial Services are Authorised Representatives / Corporate Authorised Representative of Sensibly Pty Ltd, AFSL 533923. Please refer to our website at www.stevemayfs.com.au to reference our Financial Services Guides.
