6 Staying secure

: These days, we do most of our financial transactions online. Not just buying goods and services - for example, insurance products - but also managing a bank and savings accounts. Unfortunately, with this increase in online transacting has come a growth in fraud, with accounts being hacked and money being drained from accounts.

It sounds scary. Well there are some basic rules to apply to reduce your risk. Make sure you never give any account details to anyone who phones you or e-mails you saying they're from your bank, not even individual letters from your password. Your bank would never approach you in this way.

Make sure the websites you use are genuine. The best way to check this is to check the website address, the URL, looks right. Fraudsters are very good at creating bogus websites that look just like the real thing and using these to get people to disclose confidential details about their accounts.

Check your online accounts regularly to make sure there's no suspicious activity. If you do spot suspicious activity on your accounts, contact your bank immediately. If you lose any bank card or have a card stolen, you should contact your bank to cancel your cards immediately so they can't be used for fraudulent purchases.

Change your account passwords regularly and make sure these are strong passwords - ones that can't easily be guessed by fraudsters. Try to make sure you're discreet when keying your pin number in a shop or at an ATM. Making or receiving money transfers, including paying for items bought online, can be done using secure services like PayPal, where your financial details do not have to be disclosed.

Following these rules will help to minimise your risk of exposure to fraudulent activity. Your bank may challenge their responsibility for compensating you for the cost of fraudulent activity if there is evidence that you've acted irresponsibly, but if you're being sensible, there's less risk of it happening in the first place.