Five reasons why your credit score could be a surprise

Borrowing is so much a part of 21st century life that being declined for a loan, credit card or mortgage can come as a shock, especially if your finances are well under control. Here we explain what could be counting against you - and what you can do about it.

There’s a score that can affect your life just as much as your bank balance or your tax code. It’s the credit score that lenders calculate when you apply for a loan, mortgage or credit card. It represents the risk they take in lending to you, because there’s always a risk that a customer might not repay what they borrow.

Lenders use the information you give them on your application form plus details on your credit report - the personal financial record that shows what credit you have taken out in the recent past, your repayment history, whether you have any court judgments or have been bankrupt and whether you are registered to vote.

Each item of information is allocated a value. Generally, the higher your score, the easier you will find it to borrow. So if you’re comfortably off and managing well, why would a lender turn you down?

1. You haven't borrowed enough in the past
You’d think lenders would love a customer with no debts, but it isn't as simple as that. They rely on the details in your credit report to show them that you make repayments on time and are a reliable person. If you have no track record, they cannot tell how you might behave in future and could mark you down because they have no evidence of being someone who manages credit well.

If you fear this could happen to you, ensure that the lender has full information about your situation - for example, that you own your home and have paid off your mortgage, or that you use a debit card because you live within your means. They can then make checks and come to a rational decision.

2. You don’t fit the profile for that particular lender or the type of credit
Confusingly, you don't have a single credit score. Different lenders use different ways to work out their scores, and sometimes one lender will even use different calculations for different products. They target specific groups of people and you may not fit their template.

Ideally, you should do your research before you apply and identify lenders who want to deal with people like you and what product they have for you - for example, for homeowners, students, older people and so on. The personal finance pages in newspapers, specialist magazines and websites will help.

3. There are too many recent searches on your credit report
Each time you apply for credit
you will give permission for the lender to search - look at the information on - your credit report. This search leaves a record of the check that you and other lenders can see. If you apply to multiple lenders in a short space of time, your credit report may give the impression that you are taking on more credit than you can afford. Future lenders can interpret this as meaning that you are desperate for money, overextended or even that a fraudster is using your identity to get lots of credit, fast.

Make sure that when you approach lenders for information about their products, they don't think you are making an application. Always explain that you want details, or a quote, but that you haven’t yet decided to apply.

If you think there are searches on your credit report that shouldn’t be there, contact the lenders involved, explain that you were only looking for information and ask them to amend your credit report.

4. You had problems years ago
Today you’re financially fit, but perhaps things haven’t always been so good. If you have missed credit repayments in the past, a record of these arrears can stay on your credit report for up to 36 months. With a court judgment, the evidence is there for six years. Information about a bankruptcy stays on record for at least six years and a bankruptcy restrictions order can remain there for as long as 15 years. Lenders see these and mark you down when scoring your credit application, because they fear you may not honour your obligations to them if you have failed with others in the past.

Don't panic – you may be able to take remedial action. You can ask to add an explanation of the circumstances surrounding any problems that caused adverse information to be added to your credit report. For example, you might have missed a few repayments because of illness or an accident. The credit reference agency will help you add a note explaining what happened and why things are different now.

5. You aren’t registered to vote
Lenders use local electoral registers to check that you are who you say you are and live where you say you live. If they don't find your name at your address, they may need to make further checks or can even turn you down.

The solution is simple: register at once and ensure that you have been taken off the electoral roll at any previous addresses.

What next?
If you want to improve your credit rating, your first stop should be your credit report.
You can view your report as often as you like, ask for help in adding explanations and find advice and links to organisations that may be able to help you.
Once you have registered to view your Experian credit report online, you will be able to order your National Credit Score for just £4.99. This is based purely on information in your Experian credit report, so it will not be exactly the same as a credit score calculated by a lender, but it will give you a good idea of how lenders may view your credit report information when they are making a decision.

What's on my credit report?

Your credit report is compiled by credit reference agencies using information from two main sources:
. The public record: e.g. electoral roll information, court judgments, individual voluntary arrangements and bankruptcies

. Information provided by lenders and financial institutions: e.g. credit accounts, credit applications and financial associations

The public record
On your credit report, electoral roll entries will show the name of your local authority, the address the local authority holds for you, the names of the people registered to vote at that address and the dates those people were registered.

Lenders use the electoral roll to check the identity of the people applying for credit and to make sure the addresses provided on application forms are correct. The electoral roll is published each December using information the public has supplied to local authorities. Credit reference agencies update their records every year, but if you move home you can tell your local authority, who will tell them about your change of registration in the course of the year.

Court judgments are held on your credit report for six years from the date of the judgment. Credit reference agencies receive the information from Registry Trust, an independent organisation set up by the Lord Chancellor’s Department. Judgments that are paid within one month are removed from your records as long as a certificate of satisfaction has been issued by the court.

Judgments paid after one month are kept on report but marked as ‘satisfied’ once a certificate has been issued by the court.
If you have been declared bankrupt, credit reference agencies will obtain this information from the official gazettes. It is kept on your report for six years after the date of the bankruptcy order.

Information from lenders
Credit reference agencies hold information about credit accounts over the last six years. Lenders provide this information. Some lenders provide information only on customers who have failed to keep to the terms of their credit agreement. These records are known as ‘defaults’. However, most lenders provide information throughout the life of every credit account. Lenders can use the information to identify good payers as well as bad payers and those who already have several credit accounts.

Credit accounts can be classed as ‘settled’, ‘active’, ‘defaulted’, or ‘delinquent’. A settled account is one where you have repaid your credit. Credit agencies keep a record of settled accounts for six years from the date you paid off all amounts owed to that account. The payment history shown on your report will relate to the period before you repaid your credit. An active account is one which you are still using. Agencies keep a record of these accounts until they are settled and then for six years afterwards. A defaulted account is one where you have not kept to a credit agreement. Agencies keep a record of these accounts for six years from the date you broke the relevant term of the credit agreement. The record will show how much money you still owe (the default). If you have paid off everything you owe since you broke the credit agreement, the account will be shown to be ‘satisfied’ at the balance. A delinquent account is one where your repayments have been at least three months in arrears for two or more consecutive months or have been late for more than three months over the past year.

Every record of a credit account will include a status history showing whether or not payments have been made on time. Credit accounts can include your payment record over up to 36 months. The most recent payment is shown as the first entry. The last 12 months’ payments are shown, and underneath there is a summary of the payment history over a period of up to 36 months (unless the status history shown is ‘8’). In the summary, the entries for ‘number of status 1-2’ and ‘number of status 3+’ identify how many times payments been up to two months late, or three or more months late, within the last 36 months (or since the account was opened).

Members of the Council of Mortgage Lenders record information on customers who have given up their homes or had them repossessed. The information may include the address of that home, the address from which the mortgage application was originally made, and the address the customer has moved to.

Other information
A record of lenders who have searched your report as a result of you applying for credit will be shown on your report for 12 months. This information can help lenders identify any unusual credit activity or overcommitment.

If your report specifies ‘unrecorded enquiries’, this shows that a company has searched your report for non-lending purposes. However, this information is shown only to you, not to lenders searching your report in order to make a lending decision. Lenders may also search your report to give you a credit quotation. These are recorded as quotation searches so other lenders do not mistake them for credit applications. Agencies make a record (known as a ‘footprint’) on your report to show that a report has been applied for in your name and address, but this will be shown only to you and not to lenders.

Your previous addresses, or any addresses you may use for correspondence, may be listed on your credit report. These links are created by account information moving between addresses, as a result of lenders checking your records at previous addresses, or as a result of information you give to the credit reference agency. Your credit report will show the two addresses that are linked, how the link was created, and the date and source of the link. The link will only be broken when agencies are asked to do so by the organisation that created the link.

CIFAS
CIFAS is a system developed in consultation with the Office of Fair Trading and the Office of the Information Commissioner. It aims to detect and prevent fraud, and so protect innocent people whose names, addresses or other details are used fraudulently by others in order to get credit. A CIFAS warning on your report does not mean you are being accused of fraud. Organisations who are members of CIFAS examine credit applications very carefully, and may contact you to make sure you have applied for the credit. They will not automatically refuse applications from people with warnings on their report.

GAIN - Gone Away Information Network
Credit reference agencies are members of GAIN, a network through which lenders share information on customers with debts who have moved home without telling their lenders of a forwarding address. The information may include both the address the customer moved from and any address the customer has since been recorded as living at. If you share a financial responsibility with someone else - for example, a joint court judgment, a joint account or a joint application for credit - this will be shown on your credit report together with who you share the responsibility with and when the connection was created.

Agencies may be told about any other names you have been known by and your report will show who gave them the information.

Information about other people
Your file may include financial information about members of your family who live, or have lived, with you. Lenders can take this information into account when assessing an application you make for credit. By law, this information must be included on your credit file because you must be shown all the information that is available to lenders, whether or not they use it.

The rules on using information about other people are changing and, in the future, financial information about other people will not be included on your file. After these changes have been made, only your own credit history, and that of anyone you share a financial responsibility with, will be provided to a lender.

To view your personal credit information that lenders are currently basing their credit decisions on, apply online for a credit report from Experian, the UK’s largest credit reference agency, now. You will also receive a 30-day free trial to the CreditExpert Monitoring Service from Experian.

How does my credit report affect me?

The contents of your personal credit report can have a bearing on whether or not you are given credit.

Factors other than the information held on a credit report may contribute to a lending decision as well (such as the information you provide on your application form), but your credit report is important.

Your credit report can affect your ability to:

• Get a loan
• Get a credit card
• Obtain a mortgage
• Achieve a good credit score

It's important to be aware that different companies use different methods when they are deciding whether or not to give you credit. You do not have a single credit score and credit scores are not shown on your credit report.

Get it right
As the information held by credit reference agencies is used to determine what credit you can obtain, it is important those details are right. To view your personal credit information that lenders are currently basing their credit decisions on, apply online for a credit report from Experian, the UK’s largest credit reference agency, now. You will also receive a 30-day free trial to the CreditExpert Monitoring Service from Experian.

How can I make changes to my report?

There is a variety of information held on your credit report from a variety of sources. If any of it is wrong, it could affect your ability to get credit.

The Electoral Roll
If you have registered to vote and your credit report does not show this, please contact the credit reference agencies listed at the bottom of this article and they will investigate the matter. If you have not registered to vote, you may want to contact your local authority about filling in an electoral registration form or visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk. If you move home, you can tell your local authority, who will tell credit reference agencies about your change of registration in the course of the year.

Court judgments
If you believe a County Court judgment has been recorded incorrectly, you should contact the County Court, quoting the case number included on your report. If the judgment was recorded incorrectly, the County Court will alter its records. Credit reference agencies are told about any such changes within four weeks, but if you give them original court documents, in the form of a certificate of satisfaction or cancellation, they may be able to change their records sooner if necessary.

If you have paid a Scottish decree, you should send Registry Trust (address below) a receipt or a letter from your creditor (known as the pursuer) to confirm your payment.

If you write to Registry Trust Ltd questioning the accuracy of a judgment recorded on your report, asking for an entry to be changed, you should send a cheque for £4.50 to cover a search fee. It will then tell the credit reference agencies about any change to your report.

For judgments made in Northern Ireland, if you provide documents from a plaintiff to confirm a payment, the agencies will change their records. If you have any questions about the accuracy of a judgment recorded on your report, contact the court concerned. Registry Trust Ltd 173-175 Cleveland Street London W1P 5PE

Bankruptcies
If a bankruptcy order against you is annulled (cancelled) or discharged (that is, you have met all terms), you should send a copy of the annulment certificate or order of discharge to the credit reference agencies. They will then update their records. If your bankruptcy has been annulled, they should completely remove any record of it from your report. If your bankruptcy has been discharged, a record of it will be kept on your report, but it will show that it has been discharged.

Voluntary arrangements
If you have any questions about a record of a voluntary arrangement, you should contact the supervisor who dealt with your case. If you send documents from the supervisor to confirm that the information on your report needs to be changed, the agencies will change their records.

Credit accounts
After carefully studying the credit account details (credit cards, loans, mortgages, etc), on your file, if you believe any information needs to be changed you should write to the lender concerned and ask them to give the correct information to the credit reference agencies.

Searches
Credit reference agencies will delete searches only when they are instructed to do so by the company that searched your report. If you are concerned about the accuracy of a record of a search, you should contact the company which carried out that search.

Linked addresses
Links between your previous addresses, or any addresses you may use for correspondence, may be listed on your credit report. The link will only be broken when the reference agencies are asked to do so by the organisation that created the link.

CIFAS
If you have any questions about a CIFAS record, write to the organisation concerned. If you disagree with that organisation over the information on your report, ask the organisation for details of the scheme for settling disputes.

Associations
A record of an association shows a financial link you have with someone. These links are created by joint judgements, joint accounts and joint credit applications, or from information you gave to credit reference agencies or lenders. Associations are not created between business partners. The information you see will include the details of the person you are financially connected to (the associate), the name of the company which created the link, and the date the link was created. Lenders may also see the financial information relating to the associate. This allows lenders to view all the information that may be relevant to your credit application. Information about an association is held on record indefinitely. If your associate needs to see their credit report, they will need to apply separately.

Aliases
If any names are shown on your credit report that you have never used, you should contact the company listed as providing the other name, or write to the credit reference agency and they will investigate the matter and make any necessary changes to your report.

Information about other people
Your credit report does not include financial information about a partner or family member, but it will list the names of anyone you are financially linked to (such as people you have joint accounts with). In the past, when you applied for your credit report you saw all the information that might be seen by lenders, including information about family members who live, or used to live, at the same address. Now lenders only see information about other family members who are financially linked to you.

Furthermore, the credit reference agencies have removed all family financial information from the credit reports they send to people. If you believe that information about someone you are financially linked to is the reason for your being refused credit, you might want to ask them to apply for their own credit report. Of course, they do not have to order their report or show it to you.

To view your personal credit information that lenders are currently basing their credit decisions on, apply online for a credit report from Experian, the UK’s largest credit reference agency, now. You will also receive a 30-day free trial to the CreditExpert Monitoring Service from Experian.

Credit reference agencies

Experian Consumer Help Service
Experian Ltd
PO Box 8000
Nottingham NG80 7WF
0870 241 6212

Equifax Plc
Credit Report Advice Centre
PO Box 3001
Glasgow G81 2DT

Call Credit
Consumer Service Dept
Park Row House
Leeds LS1 5JF

What if I've been refused credit?

There could be many reasons why a lender has refused to give you credit. You may have too many debts already to pass their credit scoring check or personal information on your credit report might be incorrect.

If you are declined credit, the lender should tell you the main reason for this - whether their decision was based upon a credit score, information held on your credit report or on their own specific policy. If the decision was based upon your credit report, the lender should tell you the name and address of the credit reference agency it used.

Always check your credit report
It always makes sense to obtain a copy of your credit report, either before you make an application or if you are declined credit as a result of the information held by a credit reference agency. Your credit report will include all the information that any company you apply to may see and should help you to establish why your application was declined. It will not state the reason that you have been declined because only the company you applied to will know this.

Do not make repeated applications for credit once you have been declined. Each application you make is likely to result in a search of your credit report. These searches will be registered and could affect future applications. Establish why your application was declined before making further applications.

Things to remember
Once you have received a copy of your credit report, remember: If your name is not registered on the electoral roll, contact your local authority and request that it add it. Credit reference agencies (Equifax, Call Credit and Experian) will then amend the details once notified by yourself or the relevant local authority.

If you have paid a County Court judgment, make sure that it is shown as satisfied on your credit report. If it is not, contact the County Court and obtain a certificate of satisfaction. All credit reference agencies will be notified of the change within four weeks. If you believe a judgment has been incorrectly registered, contact the court in question.

If a bankruptcy order has been discharged or annulled and this fact is not shown on your credit report, send a copy of the order of discharge or annulment to all credit reference agencies and ask for your report to be updated.

If you can pay any outstanding payments shown against credit account information, contact the lender concerned and also ask that it advise all credit reference agencies so that their records can also be amended.

If a credit account has been paid but this is not shown on your credit report, contact the company concerned and ask it to make the necessary changes.

If companies have searched your credit report more than once in response to only one application, again, ask them to make the necessary amendments.

If you have been linked to addresses with which you have no connection, contact the companies that created the links and ask for the address link to be deleted.

You may wish to add an explanation or 'notice of correction' to the information held, e.g. the reasons why an account fell into arrears at a particular time. This notice can be up to 200 words. Any future lender who sees the entry to which it relates will also see the notice.

It is valuable to monitor the information held by credit reference agencies and to ensure that it shows what you believe to be an up-to-date and accurate reflection of your credit history.

View your personal credit information that lenders are currently basing their credit decisions on. Apply online now for your credit report from Experian, the UK's largest credit reference agency. You will also receive a 30-day free trial to the CreditExpert Monitoring Service from Experian.

Am I on a credit blacklist?

The simple answer is no, you're not. There is no such thing as a blacklist.

Credit reference agencies only display factual information about people, most of which is provided by lenders. They do not offer opinions about your creditworthiness (that is, whether you are likely repay credit).

Companies make their lending decisions using credit scoring based on information held by credit reference agencies, additional information you may have provided, plus their own internal processes. The information credit reference agencies hold shows that most people are actually good payers and make repayments on time.

What is credit scoring?
Credit scoring is a technique used by companies to help them assess the risk involved in lending someone money. It involves building a score based upon the details provided by you on the application form and the information held on your credit report.

It may be that the information you supplied on your application form meant that you did not fit the lender's 'customer pro-report' and that the information held by a credit reference agency did not affect the decision.

Different companies take different information into account and, therefore, your application may be accepted by one company but declined by another.

If you are declined credit, the lender should tell you the main reason for this - whether its decision was based upon a credit score, information held on your credit report or on its own specific policy.

If the decision was based upon your credit report, the lender should tell you the name and address of the credit reference agency it used.

Always check your credit report
It always makes sense to obtain a copy of your credit report, either before you make an application or if you are declined credit as a result of the information held by a credit reference agency.

Your credit report will include all the information that any company you apply to may see and should help you to establish why your application was declined. It will not state the reason you have been declined because only the company you applied to will know this.

Do not make repeated applications for credit once you have been declined. Each application you make is likely to result in a search of your credit report. These searches will be registered and could affect future applications.

Establish why your application was declined before making further applications. It is valuable to monitor the information held by credit reference agencies and to ensure that it shows what you believe to be an up-to-date and accurate reflection of your credit history.

To view your personal credit information that lenders are currently basing their credit decisions on, you can apply online for a credit report from Experian, the UK’s largest credit reference agency. You will also receive a 30-day free trial to its CreditExpert Monitoring Service.

What is credit monitoring?

Ever been taken by surprise and turned down for credit? Have you read about the growth of identity fraud and do you worry about becoming a potential victim?

With the new CreditExpert monitoring service from Experian, the UK’s largest credit reference agency, you needn’t worry again. You can now keep track of your personal credit information and be informed when key information on your credit report changes.

CreditExpert is a subscriber service, which gives you more control over your credit information and also helps you protect yourself against the growing threat of ID fraud. It provides you with unlimited online access to your personal credit report and alerts you when activity has taken place on your credit report.

Weekly alerts are sent to personal email addresses or via SMS text. As soon as an alert is received, you can link to www.creditexpert.co.uk, where you have unlimited access to your full and up-to-date personal credit report, to see what changes have taken place.

If the activity is not legitimate or is inaccurate, e.g. someone has applied for a loan in your name or the lender has provided incorrect information to the credit reference agency, there are tools and resources available to help you take appropriate actions to stop further problems. If the activity is legitimate, you have the peace of mind of knowing that your valuable personal credit data is sound.

CreditExpert is the first and only service in the UK to provide you with unlimited online access to your full credit history, which is even more than a lender would see. With CreditExpert, reports will include information such as loans, loan terms and repayment history, plus the source of that information. In addition, you will be able to see the public information that forms part of your credit report.

CreditExpert offers a 30-day free trial of its new credit monitoring service, which also includes a free personal credit report. In addition, the service comes with a 90-day money back guarantee, an online quarterly newsletter with topical articles and features on personal finance issues, access to useful tools and calculators to help you with personal finance decisions and numerous online resources to address potential credit queries.

What are file alerts?

CreditExpert weekly file alerts will give you confidence in knowing about significant changes to your credit report.

Your credit report is checked for the following changes:

. The addition or deletion of a credit account
. A change in the payment history of a credit account
. The addition or deletion of a judgment, voluntary arrangement, or bankruptcy
. A search of your credit report
. The addition or deletion of a notice of correction
. The settlement of a credit account
. A significant balance change on a revolving credit account opened within the last six months
. Although unlikely, if there are more than four changes to your credit report, you will receive a maximum of four alerts

To view your personal credit information that lenders are currently basing their credit decisions on, apply online for a credit report from Experian, the UK’s largest credit reference agency, now.

What is identity fraud?

What would you do if your credit cards were stolen? If goods that you did not purchase were charged to your credit accounts? If unauthorised credit accounts were opened in your name?

These actions are typical examples of identity fraud, where criminals steal victims' identities in order to take over their credit accounts or to open new accounts in their names. Most of us have never experienced identity fraud and many of us may be unconcerned and believe we're not affected by it. But we are.

Identity fraud affects everyone
Identity fraud is on the increase and is the UK’s fastest-growing crime. According to the Cabinet Office, identity fraud costs the UK at least £1.3bn every year and is one of the more difficult frauds to combat. The trouble with a successful fraud is that both consumers and lenders are fooled. Although lenders are employing ever-more-sophisticated methods to spot fraudsters, people who are targeted by fraudsters often take up to 14 months to realise they are victims of identity fraud.

When criminals buy goods and services on credit using false information, we all pay through higher prices and more expensive credit terms, even if our own accounts are untouched. And when someone is victimised by a particularly successful scam, criminals are more likely to continue cheating others using similar fraudulent operations.

Some typical scams
The rise in Internet usage has meant an increase in the number of online scams. Here are some examples:

The Nigerian scams
The fraudsters send emails to people telling them they can release a fortune that is tied up in an African bank by allowing them to transfer the money into the person’s account. In return, the person will be given a share of the profits.

Another variation on this is an email supposedly from the widow of a high-ranking Nigerian official pleading for the recipient to help her access her late husband’s money. Again, the recipient is asked for their bank details.

The catch with these scams is, of course, that rather than money going into the person’s bank account, the fraudsters clean out them out using the details sent to them.

Phishing
This form of fraud has made headlines recently, with Barclays, Lloyds TSB, Natwest and even the Bank of England affected.

Barclays customers were sent emails saying that the bank was making technical changes. There was a link to go to a page where customers were prompted to enter their account details. Lloyds TSB customers received emails saying their accounts would be cancelled due to a new security measure unless they went to a site and entered their details.

Natwest, Halifax and Nationwide customers were sent emails saying they needed to verify their accounts by going to a site and entering their details. An email supposedly sent from the Bank of England urged people to download anti-virus software.

The fraudsters set up "spoof" email addresses that look like they could credibly belong to the institution. Once they have received account details, they siphon money out via "mules" – people with UK accounts – to their own accounts abroad. These scams are believed to be run from eastern Europe.

Lottery and prize draw wins
Emails are sent out to people telling them they’ve won a lottery or prize draw and they need to send a payment for "administrative" or some other purpose in order to claim their winnings. Of course, there is no prize...

CreditExpert is an online service offered by Experian that monitors your credit report and alerts you if anything changes.

How to avoid identity fraud

Identity fraud is the fastest-growing crime in the UK. Victims have financial and personal details stolen, which are then used to illegally obtain credit, cash and goods.

Fraudsters have a variety of favoured ways to obtain private information. These include going through household rubbish, 'shoulder surfing' for PINs at cash machines, and using spoof emails, Web sites or letters to request financial information.

Here's how you can help reduce the risk of your identity being stolen:

Data and personal information

1. Shred documents such as bank or credit card statements, utility bills and debit or card receipts before discarding them.

2. Check bank/credit card statements regularly, and promptly report any suspicious transactions.

3. Obtain a copy of your credit report and scrutinise it in detail, checking for unrecognised activities such as credit searches you didn't authorise.

4. Ensure that you formally close accounts you no longer need, as dormant accounts might be reactivated by fraudsters.

5. Always check that letters, faxes or emails asking for personal details are genuine.

6. Never give information to unknown callers such as a telephone canvassers who can't prove their identity.

7. Never disclose, write down or store in any way PINs and passwords.

8. Make sure bills and statements arrive on or around their usual date. Fraudsters have been known to intercept such information.

9. If an important document does go astray in the post, inform the companies concerned immediately.

10. Try to limit the amount of documentary information you carry around with you.

11. Register with the Mailing Preference Service to take your name and previous address off the majority of UK mailing lists, and arrange for your mail to be forwarded by the post office.

12. If you move home, get a copy of your credit report to help you remember to give your new address to all the companies you deal with.

Credit and debit cards

1. Sign any new credit cards as soon as you receive them.

2. Keep a list of all card numbers along with account details.

3. Don't take all your cards out with you if it's unnecessary.

Using the internet and email

1. Check that your email security settings are at an optimum level.

2. Use a secure computer (e.g. your home PC) to check online details such as bank or credit card accounts, rather than public computers such as those in libraries or Internet cafes.

3. Fraudsters may send you an email asking you to click on a link to a false Web site for your bank. Always access your bank's site by typing the address in the browser address bar (e.g. www.natwest.co.uk).

4. When giving personal details on Web sites, always check for 'https' in the browser address bar and/or the padlock symbol at the bottom left/right of the Web page you are viewing.

5. Consider installing encryption and/or firewall software on your PC or laptop to help protect sensitive information you have stored.

6. Be especially wary of emails claiming that you've won a prize. The chances are you haven't.