Four key points for keeping the crooks locked out

1 VERIFY ANY REQUEST FOR MONEY OR DETAILS

NEVER blindly trust an authoritative voice on the phone or an email that seems genuine. Be especially sceptical about any request for money or security information, even from a name you recognise.

Tell the person you will call them back, but if on a landline wait at least five minutes for the previous call to disconnect or use a mobile phone instead. Then dial a number you know to be correct or, if phoning a bank, call the number listed on the back of your debit or credit card. That way you can be sure a request or instruction is genuine. Your bank will never ask for your account PIN or passwords.

Criminals have also been known to intercept emails sent by solicitors and mimic the terminology they use to convince a client to transfer money to a different account.

Do not be conned into believing that money must be transferred to a ‘safe account’. Call a solicitor yourself before transferring large sums.

2 STAY UP TO DATE

SCRUTINISE bank statements for unusual activity and if you bank online print your statements so that you have hard evidence of your account balance and cash incomings and outgoings. Refer to your credit report, held by Experian, Equifax or Callcredit, to check for any suspicious activity. These companies record details of your financial agreements with lenders.

3 PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER

JUST as corporate chiefs must stay up to date with IT security systems, so do individuals need to keep personal computers safe from ‘malware’ – hostile software used by criminals to glean information about you. For free online security advice and suggestions on anti-virus software visit getsafeonline.org.

4 CHECK PRIVACY SETTINGS

EMAIL accounts can be set to ‘exclusive’ to ensure you only receive emails from contacts you know. Others will be sent to a junk folder, where you are more likely to treat them with suspicion and only respond to those you know to be legitimate.

On social networking website Facebook, look for the padlock symbol on the top right hand side of your personal page, which is where you can decide who sees what. Ensure what you share can only be seen by ‘friends’ and not the general public.