Identity Theft

Identity theft occurs when a dishonest individual or syndicate gathers your personal details with the intention of impersonating you to gain financial or other benefit. It often leaves the owner of the identity in large debt, with a negative credit history, and, in some cases, with legal implications.

1. Protect yourself from Identity Theft

   1. Pause before sharing personal information like your date of birth, address and bank details and don’t share it if you don’t need to or it doesn’t feel right.

   2. Adjust your social media privacy settings to ‘private’ where possible.

   3. Avoid sharing personal information when using free public Wi-Fi.

   4. Immediately report any loss or theft of documents such as your drivers licence, credit card or passport.

   5. Keep tax records and other financial documents in a secure place.

   6. Cancel all unused or dormant accounts that you may have.

2. How we protect you against Identity Theft

   1. When you log on to any of our digital banking tools your username and password are encrypted, which means your data is converted into a complex code to conceal it.

   2. Whenever you call us or request changes to your account settings, we will ask you to verify your identity to make sure it really is you. The process of identity verification isn’t overly taxing and is an important measure to keep your data safe.

   3. We employ continuous fraud detection measures and if we spot any suspicious activity, we will contact you immediately. Please ensure you keep us informed of any changes to your contact information, especially when you travel, so we can reach you promptly.

   4. In addition to our online security measures, we also maintain rigid standards of internal security in order to guarantee bank employees (and others with access to the physical premises) don’t have the opportunity to steal the personal information of our customers.