Keep your identity secure

Take care when you go online. It is vital you keep your personal information secret, the following tells you more about keeping your details safe.

Watch out for fraudulent emails

A common type of email fraud is 'phishing' where fraudsters send bogus emails which try to trick the people who receive them into revealing their Passwords and Username.
We will never send emails asking for personal security information.
If you do receive an email asking for your security details you should resist the temptation to reply or follow the instructions in the email. Do nothing, even if the email suggests that you need to take immediate action to stop your account being frozen or indicates that you may incur a financial penalty.
Do not respond to the email. You can report a BrokerLine phishing attack by sending an email to customerservices@natweststockbrokers.co.uk
Fraudsters may send emails which appear to come from the Bank in order to persuade you to enter your security details into a bogus website. Their aim is then to use your security details to remove money from your accounts.
Additional information is available at this website: www.antiphishing.org

Your Account Number, Username, Log In Password and Dealing password are the key to your online Share Dealing Accounts and information. You should keep these secure and never share them with anybody.
Change your password regularly (avoid duplication of Passwords for different services)

Trojans:

Trojans are hidden programs that contain malicious code designed to give control of your computer to a hacker or record activity. They can also be used to delete files or even view the contents of your screen.
They can be used to record keystrokes with the aim of capturing user ids and passwords which are then passed on to the person controlling the Trojan.
Many Trojans can be detected and removed using up to date anti-virus software and there are also a number of specialist software programs that claim to detect and remove Trojans.
Advice on Trojans and the software tools available is provided at the following websites: www.anti-trojan.org

Spyware:

Spyware is software that is placed on a computer to secretly gather information about the user, and their browsing habits which is then passed on to advertisers or other interested parties.
These programs are often installed without the user's consent as a result of visiting a website or through clicking on an option in a deceptive pop-up window.
Spyware can also be carried in viruses or installed alongside other free software downloaded from the internet. You should read the license agreements for such software very carefully before you agree to install it.
Spyware can slow down your computer, alter your homepage, produce lots of adverts or links to websites and even include keystroke loggers to record details such as passwords and user names.
There are a number of free software tools and commercial products that claim to be able to remove Spyware from your computer. These should be regularly updated with the latest definition files from the vendor. Two such free products are Ad-aware and Spybot, which are available at the following websites:
Ad-aware
Spybot