Press Release

YOU COULD LOSE MORE THAN YOUR PHONE IF YOU LEAVE IT IN THE BACK OF A TAXI

Equifax warns consumers not to put personal data on phones and laptops as report reveals that 60,000 hand held devices left in the back of black cabs in the last 6 months

London, September 2008 - According to a report released today*, more than 60,000 hand-held devices were left in the back of black cabs during the past six months. The initial inconvenience of being without your phone is one thing, but leading ID fraud expert, Equifax, is warning of much more serious implications.

"Unfortunately, our mobiles and blackberrrys have become the equivalent of our address books", confirmed Neil Munroe, External Affairs Director. "And what that means if we lose them is that we lose a lot of valuable information that could be used by fraudsters to steal our identity."

A survey conducted amongst Equifax customers in April revealed that 16% put PIN numbers on their mobile devices while 24% recorded birthday dates. As worrying was that fact that nearly half of all respondents said they stored bank details on laptops, mobiles and blackberrys.

"The advent of chip and PIN and an increased focus on electronic security mean that more passwords and PINs need to be remembered than ever before", continued Neil Munroe. "But that can be a challenge, especially if you have several bank accounts and credit cards. But consumers really must not store those numbers and passwords on their mobiles or blackberrys. Fraudsters are very clever and can quickly go through an address book to spot the number that clearly isn't a telephone number.

"While most people now recognise the importance of securing their laptops, many don't do the same for their mobile phones or other hand-held equipment. All should be password-protected and users should avoid storing key personal information on them. The moral of the story is don't put it on there if you don't have to."

EQUIFAX TIPS TO PROTECT AGAINST ID FRAUD

Apply for a copy of your credit file to look out for any unauthorised activity
Shred statements bills and direct mail which contains personal information
Redirect mail if you move
Keep your PIN secure
Always check bank statements and credit card statements carefully against receipts
Be careful of what you carry around in your handbag or wallet. Credit Card receipts, payslips, driving licence, bank statement, utility bill.these all reveal a lot of information about you and a combination of these can be a fraudsters dream
When using online banking, ensure people can't view your details and log out of the site, rather than just closing the window
No matter how much you trust your friends, work colleagues, do not give out your PIN number under any circumstances
Do not use the same PIN number for all of your cards and never store your PIN on mobile phones, blackberrys or laptops
If you are disposing of an old phone or computer, make sure you destroy information on the hard drive
Make sure you have the latest virus protection that ideally updates hourly and you have a Firewall

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For further press information please contact: Elinor Puzey, Louise Fowler or Cecile Stearn at HSL on 020 8977 9132 / Fax: 020 8977 5200 or Email: louise@harrisonsadler.com