Protect your personal information

It is important to remain vigilant of the information you share online.

Sensitive information and data such as passports, drivers licences and banking details are at risk of being exposed to cybercriminals if there is a data breach. If this occurs, you may become a victim of identify theft, fraudulent activity, or scams.

To safeguard your privacy and protect yourself from potential harm you should:

• Limit information shared online and consider how secure a site is before you divulge anything personal.
• Confirm how a site might use and share your information, how it is stored, and what options you have to request it to be removed in the future.
• Check your privacy settings on all online accounts and review for changes periodically.
• Be wary of requests for personal information or identification documents.
• Secure your devices with strong, unique passphrases and use a password manager.
• Close any unused services and accounts and request all associated data is removed as appropriate. Ensure that information does not become 'orphaned', meaning check that your data isn’t being left somewhere forgotten or ignored as it is no longer actively used or managed by anyone.
• Do not leave devices unattended.