SHRED any documents with vital personal information on them and you might just thwart a fraudster.

A simple message but one that’s vital to stop you from becoming a potential crime victim.

This week has been National Identity Fraud Protection Week, raising awareness about identity theft and how it can be prevented.

Your identity is personal to you, so don’t allow anyone to steal it.

If criminals get hold of confidential information – such as your bank account number – they can use it to steal cash, sometimes huge amounts.

It only takes a few seconds to shred some details, but it could take months, even years to recover once you’ve had your identity stolen.

Anyone can be a victim, but if you follow anti-fraud advice you will significantly reduce your chance of falling foul of a fraudster.

Thieves have even been known to target bins looking for information that has simply been thrown away.

Others steal mail or trick victims into giving too much information over the phone or by email.

Many victims don’t realise they’ve had their identities stolen until it’s too late.

Tell-tale signs include card statements or bills going missing or being delivered late, unusual transactions appearing on bills and bank statements or if you’re refused credit unexpectedly.

Store out of sight any documents containing personal details such as passport, driving licence, bank statements and utility bills.

Shred personal documents when you no longer need them. Anything with your name, address or other personal details on needs to be destroyed.

Don’t carry confidential documents around with you unnecessarily or leave them in your car.

Check your bank and card statements regularly to spot any irregularities.

Be careful about providing personal details to people on the phone, by post, email or in person unless you are sure they are who they say they are. If you’re suspicious about a caller trying to sell you a service or asking for donations to charities, ring them back on an advertised number or visit their website.

Protect your computer with anti-virus, firewall and anti-spam software to protect against criminals.

If using social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo and Myspace, use the privacy settings to protect your information and be careful about which personal details you put on there.

If your post arrives into a communal area such as a block of flats, make sure you have a secure box for it to be dropped in.

If you have to post anything with personal details on, ask the post office about the most secure way of sending it.

Fraudsters have been known to try to re-direct your post without permission. If you suspect this to be the case or that your mail is being stolen, contact Royal Mail.

If you’re moving house tell all the organisations you deal with such as banks and credit card companies immediately and use a postal divert system to forward mail to your new address.

If you are going to be away for a while services are available where your post can be held securely.

Businesses should:

Shred all documents and electronic media. Under principle 7 of the Data Protection Act businesses are required to dispose of personal information securely.

Businesses are legally required to store sensitive documents in a safe place, limit access to specific employees and destroy them when the time limit on storage has been reached.

Use credit reference companies to verify the identities of customers.

Make sure staff don’t send out company information without first checking where it is going. Don’t carry confidential documents around unnecessarily or leave them in your car.