Find out what identity theft and fraud mean and how to keep yourself safe

It’s a good idea to remove your date of birth from your social media accounts. This doesn’t mean you’ll stop your friends and family wishing you well on your birthday. You can review your privacy settings to make sure only people you know can see things like your birthday posts.

Limit information about where you live to something general, like the city you live in. Never publish your full address publicly.

Have different passwords for your various online profiles, and make sure you have a strong password for each one. Read our guide to keeping your passwords safe and secure to find out how to pick a good password.

While your personal details need to be protected online, there are also ways fraudsters can get access to your information offline as well.

Keep sensitive documents like bank statements in a safe place and only share your personal information with people you trust.

If you’re throwing any paperwork away, make sure you shred it first.

If you move house, make sure you tell your bank, building society and credit card companies immediately, so letters and replacement cards don’t get into the wrong hands.

Check your statements regularly using Anytime Banking or Mobile Banking and look out for suspicious transactions. Report anything that you don’t recognise immediately.

If someone sets up a credit card in your name, you might not realise straight away. There’s often time between a bill becoming overdue and a creditor seeking payment from the person named on the account. Make a habit of checking your credit report to look out for any credit applications that you haven’t made. You can dispute anything inaccurate and could have it taken off your credit report.