Another data breach bungle by HMRC

It was revealed recently that HM Revenue & Customs had been involved in another data breach bungle, raising further concerns over identity theft. The latest blunder involved over two thousand letters being sent out to claimants with regards to child benefits, but many of them had the personal details of other people on. Read more

Tags: Data breach, Taxation in the United Kingdom, United Kingdom, HM Revenue and Customs, Data security

Data breach could result in FSA fine for Skipton

The Skipton Building Society has hit the headlines recently after it was revealed that there had been a serious breach of security. Over the past couple of years the topic of security breaches has become more and more of a concern, with many fearing that they have become victims of identity theft as a result of security breaches by banks and other financial institutions. Read more

Tags: identity theft, Public safety, Financial Service Authority, Computer security, National security, security, Crime prevention, Data security, Skipton

Staying in and saving money

For those people that have become used to going out to socialise, which can of course work out to be quite expensive, the current financial climate will be have come as a real shock, as it may have forced them to cut back on their spending and start spending more time indoors.

With many people still fearful about their job security and about spending money unnecessarily spending time in the house has become increasing common even amongst those that once went out on a regular basis.

However, whilst it may seem that being stuck in the house will equate to a boring, uninspiring evening this is not necessarily the case, and you can actually enjoy a very cheap night in whilst having plenty of fun and entertainment.

More and more people are now staying in rather than heading off on an expensive night out, and this has been proven through figures such as those released by takeaway firms, where profits have been soaring as a result of people ordering a takeaway rather than going out for meals.

A rising number of people are now starting to realise the benefits of entertaining at home or spending nights in rather than out on the town, and it doesn’t have to involve being stuck in front of the box watching programmes that you don’t even like!

In fact entertaining at home has become so popular that industry officials have come up with the phrase ‘in-tertaining’.

One industry official said: ‘The recession has made people far savvier when it comes to saving money, and millions of us have worked out that in-tertaining is a great way to cut back without missing out. So much so that a whopping 57% of our monthly, paid for entertainment is now being consumed in our homes.’

If you enjoy going out to dine with friends then the perfect solution is to dine in your own home yet still enjoy the same company. You could look at creating a great dish for your friends and bring in a few bottles to go with the food, which will work out far cheaper than going out for a meal. Alternatively you can order a takeaway if you want something more casual, which again should work out much cheaper.

You could even have a ‘bring a bottle’ type evening, where each of your friends brings a dish and a bottle, and you can enjoy a buffet style evening with evening mucking in with the cost and cooking.

Going to the pictures can prove quite expensive if there is a group of you going, so why not look at renting a DVD, getting some popcorn in, and having a fun night in front of the box without the constant dirty looks and ’shusshes’ that you might get at the cinema if you so much as sneeze! Again, this is a great way to save money whilst enjoying entertainment in a casual and fun setting.

In fact, many people are already doing this, with a DVD rental specialist stating: ‘Since the start of the recession, our membership has more than doubled in size as people look to save that extra bit of cash while still enjoying themselves. Staying in has definitely become the new going out. Our members are renting more titles than before, they’re buying more DVDs from our shop and now they’re even accessing films and TV online through our new digital service – more ways than ever for them to enjoy an entertaining night in.’

Even romance doesn’t have to cost a fortune, as you can enjoy a delicious home cooked meal – and for those that aren’t too good at cooking many supermarkets now offer meal deals where you can get pre-made meals that simply need to be warmed along with sumptuous deserts and wine, and with the right lighting and music you can recreate a wonderful romantic night in with the added benefit of a private setting.

Tags: evening mucking, job, pre-made meals, money saving, delicious home, security, money tips, spending money

No change in base rate for third month

For the past couple of months the base interest rate in the UK has been kept at its record low of 0.5 percent, and following this month’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting the Bank of England has announced that the rate will remain on hold for a third month. Read more

Tags: money, interest rates, record low, level, October, bank of england, security

Is wedding insurance cover a good idea?

As a nation we Brits love to feel secure and safe with total peace of mind that we have done all we can to protect ourselves and our loved ones from a range of eventualities. This is why the insurance industry has become so huge, with Brits taking out all sorts of insurance policies to cover all sorts of circumstances. From travel insurance and home insurance to insurance for our pets, cars, mobile phones, health, and even our lives, insurance is something that gives us a sense of security – and often helps us to avoid the huge financial losses that we may otherwise have faced without it. Read more

Tags: something, wedding insurance, reception, Marriage, travel, security, total peace, Insurance

Fraudulent Attempts to Access Bank Accounts Have Increased

If you have been one of the millions of people who have received an email from your bank asking you to update your information, then it is quite likely that you have been targeted in one of the many bank phishing scams that have been plaguing the Internet and banks. Con artists who try to scam people into revealing their personal banking information has increased about 180% in 2008 over the same numbers for 2007. Read more

Tags: fraud, bank accounts, Cybercrime, phishing, Sandra Quinn

HMRC offers huge reward for return of sensitive data discs

Following the huge blunder where two discs containing the bank and personal details of 25 million people were lost by HM Revenue and Customs a huge reward has been offered by official for the safe return of the information. The discs were lost some weeks ago by HMRC, and although there has been no indication that they have fallen into the wrong hands everyone affected has been contacted in writing and urged to be extra vigilant to ensure that nothing is amiss when it comes to their bank accounts. Read more

Tags: fraud, interest rate cuts, bank account, safe return, data, security, police, identity theft

Are you planning to remortgage?

Over recent months many people with mortgages have decided to remortgage for one reason or another. Some have come off special deals that were valid for a limited time and have been forced to remortgage or risk the expensive of being pushed onto the lender’s standard variable rate, and others have decided to remortgage because they can get a better deal elsewhere, saving them money on their borrowing. However, a recent report has shown that there could be a dilemma now facing those planning to remortgage, as there is now confusion over what will happen with interest rates. Read more

Tags: rate cuts, arrangement, standard variable rate, mixed advice, security

Insure your garden, says expert

With the summer months coming up and people spending more time outside, many homeowners may not realise that their sheds and gardens might be at risk of being burgled as they forget to lock them properly, an expert has advised.

According to Simon Lamble, product director at Confused.com, people tend to be less stringent with the security of their garden equipment during the summer and this leads to a ’significant’ increase in the number of shed burglaries.

Research from the company found that the average cost garden equipment is around £800, although not all home insurance policies will pay out for losses of more than £1,000.

“It is imperative that, when taking out home insurance policies, homeowners consider the contents of their sheds, garages and any other outbuildings, and insure them accordingly,” Mr Lamble commented.

Meanwhile, Tescocompare.com has found that Brits fooling around at home cause 25 per cent of damages to their houses.

Tags: insurance policies, Business Finance, home insurance policies, security, Financial economics

Travel insurance ‘particularly important’ for gap year students

Buying travel insurance can become “particularly important” when taking part in a learning holiday on a gap year, one financial expert has claimed.

STA Travel said that ensuring that the appropriate cover is in place can ensure a traveller is well protected against the unexpected.

A spokesperson for the firm said that learning holidays can be life changing but the initial costs quite high.

“It is imperative that the passenger covers themselves against potential costs if they were forced to cancel due to circumstances outside their control,” she added.

Insurance can help protect a traveller from the expenses of having to return to home in the event of an illness of accident occurring.

STA Travel also said that some sports such as kite-surfing can be dangerous so it is important for a traveller to make sure they are covered for any activity they take part in.

Up to 25 per cent of young travellers travel uninsured or underinsured, putting their parents’ homes and financial security at risk.

Tags: financial security, Gap, potential costs, place, illness, security

Travellers need to remember European Health Insurance Card

Travellers need to remember to take their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) with them when they go to Europe, warn insurance experts.

According to the AA, the card, previously known as the E111 form, offers health insurance which is always a “good idea” when travelling.

Ian Crowder, public relations manager for the AA, said that the EHIC is a reciprocal agreement with the NHS should allow holidaymakers to receive treatment in EU countries free or at low cost should it be required.

“[However], depending where you are may depend on the standard of service you get,” he added.

Research from gapyear.com states that a quarter of those who go travelling do so uninsured or underinsured which can put their parents’ homes and financial security at risk.

Up to 230,000 people take a gap year between the ages of 18-24 who have an average spend between £3-4,000.

A further 90,000 people take a gap year between the ages of 25 and 35 and spend an average sum between £6-9,000.

Tags: standard, Gap, financial security, Ian Crowder, nhs, security, eu countries

Storm insurance costs hitting the roof

The roofs of up to 1.5 million homes in the UK have been hit by storms in the past year, costing consumers £4.5 billion in repairs, according to insurance experts.

Research from Halifax Home Insurance shows that the average cost of repairing wind damage has risen to £2,800, which equates to 12 per cent of the average British salary.

Martyn Foulds, senior claims manager at Halifax Home Insurance, said: “Homeowners without adequate buildings insurance cover risk finding a huge hole blown in their finances by the cost of repairs.”

He added that the increasing number of incidents of extreme weather conditions, such as wind and flood, “make it more vital than ever for homeowners to take proactive steps to protect their financial and physical security before disaster strikes”.

Further findings from the firm reveal that the average affected house needs 127 tiles replacing, a figure which equates to more than 200 million across Britain.

Meanwhile a study in Germany predicts that financial losses incurred by bad weather could rise to 37 per cent in the UK.

Tags: adequate buildings insurance, disaster strikes, storms, halifax, huge hole, year, security, Financial economics

Consumers need to be wary credit card fraud

Consumers need to be wary of credit card fraud when paying for goods in shops, one security expert has claimed.

The CPP warned that there is a risk that sometimes businesses work in collusion with fraudsters to deceive customers by using two machines – one that they skim the card through before putting it into the chip and pin machine.

Danny Harrison, a security expert at CPP said: “It’s something we need to be careful of. If somebody does take a card we need to be watching what they do with it.”

He added that chip and pin machines can easily be fitted with cloning devices but it should also be easy to recognise when a device has been tampered with.

According to research conducted by CPP, nearly one in five consumers have had their card cloned when using either an ATM or chip and pin machine.

The number of fraud and forgery acts committed in England increased dramatically in 1999 when compared against the number of cases during 1993 to 1999.

Tags: forgery, Technology, machines, Credit card, United Kingdom

Credit cards can provide ‘additional protection’ against online fraud

Paying for goods worth over £100 with a credit card can provide consumers with additional protection against potential ID fraud say industry experts.

A spokesperson for Consumer Direct said: “They [consumers] can get additional protection under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, which makes credit card companies jointly and equally liable. It gives you extra consumer protection.”

He also advised consumers to look out for a padlock symbol on a webpage or the ‘https’ in the website title to show that the site is secure.

Customers should also maintain their security software to afford themselves more online protection and check their bank and credit card statements regularly.

In a recent review of 77 websites of financial firms the Financial Services Authority (FSA) found that a quarter of them “failed to present information in a fair, clear and not misleading way”.

The Office of Fair Trading said earlier this year that the UK internet shopping market is estimated to be worth over £21.4 billion.

Tags: trading, credit, credit card statements, security software, Consumer Direct, Business Finance, security, Fair Trading

Credit cards recommended for online Christmas shoppers

Brits enjoying a more relaxed Christmas shopping experience online are advised to use their credit cards for enhanced protection.

According to Simon Crisp, director of Shopsafe.co.uk, consumers can improve their legal security by using a credit card for online purchases.

He added that, if doing so, they should also take the measure of registering the card with their bank with the new schemes available from Visa and Mastercard.

“There’s actually new schemes being launched by the credit card companies – one’s called Verified by Visa, the other is called Mastercard SecureCode.

“Both let you register your credit card with your bank, and put a password on your credit card, so that only you can use that card.”

He said that this will protect the user against identity fraud and theft as the retailer knows that only the consumer is in possession of the password.

According to consumer group Which?, 69 per cent of Brits will do their Christmas shopping on the internet this year to avoid the “crowds” and be able to “compare prices more easily”.

Tags: uk consumers, shopping on the internet, MasterCard, security, Credit Cards, fraud

Obligatory safe may not bring down premiums

Buying a safe may ensure that providers will cover you but it will not necessarily lower your premiums, an industry expert has said today.

Anthony Neary at The Safe Shop, explained that while some insurers will insist the customer owns a safe before they can get cover, other factors are more likely to help bring down your premium.

He said: “Door locks and window locks will bring your premium down if you’ve got those fitted but safes are a bit different.

“Certain customers are told that they must buy a safe otherwise they’re not going to give them cover for whatever items they’ve got there.”

Meanwhile, the British Crime Survey recently revealed that 300,555 offences of burglary were recorded in homes in England and Wales from 2005 to 2006.

This number represents a seven per cent decrease from the previous year, with criminal damage offences also down by four per cent.

The Home Office reports that most burglaries are conducted by opportunist thieves, with two in every ten burglaries not involving force.

Tags: today, expert, Containers, safe shop, Home Office

Data loss puts thousands at risk

Thousands of Standard Life customers could be at risk of identity theft after their personal details were lost.

The details of around fifteen thousand Standard Life customers were being sent on CD from HM Revenue and Customs to the Standard Life headquarters in Edinburgh. This is a routine process carried out by HMRC. However, the courier lost the CD on this occasion, and it never arrived at the company’s headquarters.

Officials from Standard Life and HMRC are now warning customers to be vigilant. The data related to pensions customers, and amongst the information about each consumers was their National Insurance number, their names, their dates of birth, and their pension plan numbers. The CD was sent and lost around a month ago state officials. Reports also claim that a second CD with consumer information has gone missing, but it is not yet known which company this second CD was meant to go to.

The customers at risk have now been sent letters from Standard Life and HMRC. However, this is almost five weeks following the loss of the data, which has resulted in criticism.

One customer expressed her concern over the delay in notifying customers of the breach of security, stating: “This happened at the end of September and it is a month before notification. They are saying that addresses were not on there, but if someone has your surname and date of birth it is not that difficult to track you down.”

An official from Standard Life stated: “We have no evidence that the disc has fallen into third party hands and we have also been closely monitoring all the accounts and have seen no indications of any suspicious activity.”

Mark Wright
8th November 2007

Tags: security, personal, data, lost, disc

‘Risk element’ to interest only mortgages

Customers choosing to invest in an interest-only mortgage risk falling into negative equity if housing prices drop after they have secured the loan, a finance expert has warned.

Re – Financial Planning explained that clients taking out insurance-only mortgages, which allow them to just pay back the interest on the sum borrowed and repay the original capital debt upon the sale of a property, would lose less money each month through mortgage repayments but face extra risk.

Not only would they still have the original loan repayment hanging over their heads, but they could be left owing their mortgage provider money after the sale of their property if house prices had fallen instead of climbed, explained David Higgins, director of Re – Financial Plannign.

“Any client taking on an interest only mortgage is adding an extra dimension of risk over and above what they would normally have with a capital repayment mortgage,” he said.

“I think mortgage lenders are more lax than they’ve ever been. The high property prices have lulled them into a false sense of security. They know that even if the person doesn’t have the means to pay off the mortgage that they have adequate security.”

According to MoneyFacts.co.uk, the recent credit crunch is starting to effect the buy-to-let sector, as providers begin to tighten credit criteria, raise fees and a withdraw products from the market.

Tags: money, extra dimension, element, mortgage repayments, Interest-only loan, Real estate pricing, security, Real estate

Car owners leaving ‘paradise’ on display

One in five British drivers are leaving their cars unattended with valuables on display worth more than £200, it has emerged.

Zurich research has discovered that 85 per cent of car owners are leaving belongings in their cars with an average value of £145, representing a total of £3.9 billion worth of gadgets on display to potential thieves.

The study also found that younger drivers between 18 and 24 years old are the worst offenders for leaving their possessions visible to thieves, while popular items left include car stereos, polling 51 per cent, and CD collections, which were left by 44 per cent of drivers.

With many Britons not taking adequate precautions to protect their vehicles from thieves with 18 per cent of having no security measures in place, Zurich has commented that UK cars are a “thief’s paradise”.

“Harried, time-poor drivers often fail to realise just how valuable the possessions they leave in their cars are and are not taking the right precautions,” Zurich Insurance head of motor underwriting Roy Seeds said.

A Direct Line spokesperson has recently advised younger drivers that taking part in the government’s Pass Plus training initiative, at a cost of about £100, could help to reduce the cost of their insurance premium by up to 35 per cent.

Tags: poor drivers, britons, premium, value, Business Finance, uk, security

Chip and pin scare

Fears are growing that criminals may soon be able to collect customer information from doctored chip and pin machines.

Credit card holders could be targeted if thieves get their hands on the information which was discovered by a specialist research team at Cambridge University.

The team claims to have achieved its goal of reconfiguring a machine, allowing it to copy personal account and pin numbers.

This information can then be used to create fake cards, leaving consumers vulnerable to theft from their account.

It took just one month and £1,000 for the researchers to crack the system, with team members saying that all of the information and equipment is available over the internet from computer manufacturers.

The researchers specialise in testing the security of electronic hardware and the payments association Apacs says it is unlikely that the scam will be carried out on the high street.

An Apacs statement said: “People could, in theory, use this to steal account details from cards. Our experts are in discussion with the manufacturers of terminals to see what can be done.”

Tags: street, pin scare, information, scare, thieves, GBP, economics, security

Consumers could save money on home insurance

A number of studies carried out in relation to consumer trends with buildings and contents insurance have shown that a large percentage of consumers could save a small fortune on the cost of their insurance premiums by taking a few simple steps. A recent survey was carried out by Tesco, and the results indicated that many consumers could be paying up to twenty five percent too much on their premiums for buildings and contents cover.

In many cases consumers are failing to shop around for good deals on home insurance cover simply because they think that they have to take the insurance cover that is offered by their mortgage provider, which is not always the case. The head of insurance at Tesco stated: “Many consumers are apathetic about their home insurance or believe it is an integral part of their mortgage. Others suspect the saving made by shopping around won’t be worth the effort but that isn’t true.”

As part of a survey, around 125 consumers were asked to shop around when it came to renewing their home insurance, and out of these a quarter discovered that they were paying around seventy five pounds more than they needed to on the cost of their premiums. The other seventy five percent from the survey also discovered that they could make some form of saving on their cover simply by shopping around.

In addition to shopping around, Moneysupermarket.com has advised consumers to ensure that their home is made secure through the fitting of security locks, burglar alarms, and other security devices, as this could also help to slash the cost of insurance premiums through reduced risk. Consumers may also find that purchasing a combination package of buildings and contents cover could save them money on the overall cost of their home insurance.

Tags: security, buildings, cost, premiums, Insurance, cover, contents, payments

What Is a Secured Loan?

As Safe as Houses…

A secured loan means that you have agreed to put up security for the lender so that if you default on the loan they will use that security to pay off the debt. Read more

Tags: Secured loan, Unsecured debt, market value, homeowner loans, home improvement loans, secured loans

How Safe Is Your Internet Bank Account?

The internet is whatever you want it to be. It is such a huge resource of information, good and bad, that whoever uses the internet will find a way to use it in the way that suits them. Read more

Tags: security, online bank accounts, internet bank accounts, 5 million, user friendly, internet banking, debts, bank accounts