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Keeping your data secure
Cyber security

We all rely on the safety of our data and personal information.

Organisations we interact with store data about us. Much of this data includes sensitive information. If these organisations don't have the right protection in place, our data might fall into the wrong hands. Exposure of this information can in many cases be very harmful.

For example, in August 2022, South Staffordshire Plc, announced that it had experienced a criminal cyber-attack.

They found that personal data relating to some of their customers who pay for their water bill by Direct Debit was accessed, and was subsequently published on the dark web. 

It is always sensible to take precautions against potential fraud. So, we have put together some advice to help you to better protect yourself.

Steps you can take to improve your security

We have taken important steps to help keep your data secure, but there are some steps that you can take to make your data even more secure.

  • Periodically change all your internet banking passwords
  • Review your banking statements as regularly as possible to ensure you recognise all transactions
  • Switch on Two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible.                 Our Online login process is compliant with the Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) regulation, where we require two out of the three factors to verify yourself
  • Register with the CIFAS Protective Registration service which means that your name and details will be flagged on their database in case there is what looks like fraudulent activity on your account
  • Report any potential breaches to Action Fraud
  • Get a copy of your credit file and review regularly to see if you recognise all the accounts and searches on there. Most Credit Reference Agencies offer a monthly subscription, and there are some services which aggregate information from all agencies e.g. checkmyfile.com and ClearScore
  • If your banking information has been compromised, then you should make sure that all online shopping sites that store these and/or card details are also reviewed and possibly change the passwords on these as well