Advice

• Dispose of paper records using the services of a professional information destruction company that is inspected to British Standard 8470. Click here for information on such companies.
• Branded products and company uniforms can also be used by criminals to defraud your business.  Make sure that such items are shredded or incinerated when they are disposed of.
  

• The Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee recommends that to reduce the risk of identity fraud when you move, use Royal Mail's Business Redirection Service to direct your mail from your old address to your new one for at least a year. Click here  for further information.
• To reduce the risk of identity fraud when you close, the Home Office Identity Fraud Steering Committee supports the use of Royal Mail's Keepsafe Service to hold your mail for up to two months and deliver it on your return to make sure you don't leave any obvious clues, like a pile of mail in the lobby. Click here for further information.
• Monitor your mail and report any lost or stolen mail to Royal Mail on 08457 740 740.

• Protect your business' details at Companies House and the personal information of your directors by using Companies House' 3 point plan. Click here for more information.

• Make sure that your IT security systems are comprehensively secured. Firewalls, anti-virus and anti-phishing software are all vital to protecting your network.
• Password protection is key. Ensure that all your staff protect their computers with passwords that are changed regularly and will not be easily guessed.
• Consider monitoring use of removable memory devices such as memory sticks or MP3 players. These can all be easily used to copy significant amounts of information.
• Old computer hard drives could contain significant amounts of confidential information. Make sure any old computer hard drives are shredded or incinerated by a professional information destruction company.

• Make sure all your staff are aware of the importance of protecting confidential information, their obligations under the Data Protection Act and the risks of identity fraud. Consider including training on this as part of your induction for new staff.

• The Data Protection Act means that you have a legal obligation to protect the confidential material stored by your business. Ensure that not only you, but also the third party companies that you employ, comply with the requirements of the Act.