Over recent months more and more of us have become aware of the importance of protecting our personal data, and the problems that can arise as a result of failure to do this. Personal data can include name, address, date of birth, national insurance details, banking details, etc. Some people have been cynical in the past with regards to the level of damage that someone can cause if they get a hold of your personal data, and one of these cynics was the television presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

Earlier this year Clarkson, who classed fears over identity theft and fraud stemming from lost banking details as nonsense, put the theory to the test by publishing his own banking details in a tabloid newspaper. However, he was proven very wrong when a reader used the information to access his account and pay £500 to a UK charity from Clarkson’s account. Following the incident Clarkson admitted that he had been wrong about the situation.

It is likely that Clarkson is now taking far greater care of his personal data, and it is vital that all consumers follow suit by protecting themselves against unscrupulous fraudsters and identity thieves. Protecting your data may not be as easy as we’d like, as there are some situations that are out of our control, such as when banks and agencies lose our information. A number of these incidents have been seen lately, such as the high profile data loss incident last year when HM Revenue and Customs lost the bank details of 25 million people, or the loss of the personal details of 370,000 people this year by HSBC.

Whilst there are some situations over which we do not have control there are ways in which we can take steps to protect ourselves as much as possible against this sort of criminal activity. You will be amazed how easily thieves can get their hands on the right details to commit fraud and identity theft. For example, you may be in the habit of throwing bank and credit card statements and letters in the regular waste paper bin, which then gets emptied into black bags and left outside. Thieves can easily root through these bags and find valuable documentation that will enable them to commit fraud using your name and details.

Fraudsters can also gain information in other ways, such as online. Protecting your personal data does not just mean disposing of bank statements and paperwork with your details on. It also means being more vigilant about the type and level of information that you submit online. You will be amazed how much information fraudsters can glean from various websites, particularly social networking sites where many people become lax about the information that they put on. Fraudsters can quickly gather up this information and use it to commit fraud, so make sure that you exercise extreme caution with regards to the details that you put on these sorts of sites.

Recent additions:

• Acknowledge and deal with your debts
• What’s in store for the UK economy?
• Start of year sees insolvency levels rise
• Credit crunch leads to increase fraud on finance applications
• Lenders need to be more cautious
• CAB still dealing with many debt enquiries

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