Keeping your details secure

At the Society, we understand that it is our responsibility to ensure that any details we hold on our members’ personal and financial details are kept secure and private.

We hope that you find the following helpful ideas useful to enable you to do the same at home.

Personal information:

  • When disposing of bank statements, utility bills and receipts containing any of your personal details, bank or credit card details always try to shred and destroy before disposing of them;
  • Keep your bank/credit cards, building society passbooks, passport and driving licence or any other documents containing your personal details in a secure place;
  • Do not allow anyone else to use your bank or credit card and do not give your pin number, password or security information to anyone else;
  • Be cautious if someone calls you unexpectedly and asks for any personal details. If in doubt call the organisation they represent back on a number that you know to be correct (from a bank statement, letterhead, website or even by telephoning directory enquiries). Never call the organisation on the number the caller gives you;
  • Do not keep your chequebook and bank/credit cards together;
  • Check your credit report periodically to make sure no one else is obtaining credit using your identity; and
  • Install software that protects your computer from viruses and unwanted programs and make sure it is kept current. If you are unsure, seek the help of a computer professional.

Your Society accounts:

  • Report any lost or stolen passbooks to us immediately on 01785 223212 or call into the branch so that we can take the necessary steps to protect your account;
  • If you wish to check a Society call is genuine, tell the caller you will call them back using a telephone number you know is correct, not a number they may give to you;
  • Regularly check your passbooks for any suspicious or unrecognised transactions. If there is an entry that seems to be wrong, or you suspect your account may be being used by someone else, you must inform us as soon as possible by contacting the branch on 01785 223212 or call into the branch. If we need to investigate a transaction on your account, we shall expect you to co-operate with us in our investigations. We may give the police or any other prosecuting authority any information we consider relevant;
  • Always tell us if you change your name, address, telephone number or email address as soon as possible, so that we can ensure our records are kept up to date. We may need to contact you urgently if we have a concern about a transaction on your account; and
  • Never include your full personal details in an email to us or anyone else.

Identity fraud:

Identity crime can take the form of either identity theft or identity fraud. Identity theft is when your personal details are stolen. Identity fraud is when those stolen details are used for the criminal’s own personal gain to commit fraud.

A person’s identity is one of their most valuable assets. Without it, many of the things we take for granted on a day to day basis would be impossible to do or obtain. Savings accounts, passports, driving licences, mortgages, insurance, mobile phone contracts, and social security benefits – all of these, and many more – depend on being able to prove who you are.


Password hints and tips:

Stronger and more complex passwords will make your online usage harder to access. There are multiple ideas about what constitutes a good password.

Here are our top five tips for creating a strong password:

  • Use a mixture of letters, cases, numbers and symbols;
  • Aim to use different passwords for different accounts. Don’t just alternate between different ones;
  • Don’t have a password that can be easily guessed. This might include your birthday, favourite sports team, family names or words in the dictionary;
  • Try using the first letters of a phrase to create your password. For example, ‘our Railway Building Society is based in the West Midlands’ would give you ‘oRBSibitWM’;
  • Never keep a note of your passwords or PINs somewhere where they could be lost or stolen such as in your wallet or on your personal device.