Security

Your security is very important to us. Please read this section as it contains important information and advice.

If you think you’ve been the victim of fraud, if any security details are lost or stolen, or you know or think that someone has used or tried to use them, contact us immediately by calling the following number:

From the UK: 020 7400 5710

From abroad: + 44 (0) 20 7400 5710

Protecting your computer

Whether or not you use our online services, it’s very important that you protect your computer from unauthorised access.

As a minimum precaution we recommend that you always install the vendor recommended security patches or upgrades for your software, browser and operating system. In addition, you should install anti-malware and firewall software on your computer and ensure it is kept up to date.

No security programme provides absolute protection. We in no way guarantee that by installing the software recommended, your computer will be completely secure and we are not liable for any loss or damage that you may suffer.

Protecting your identity

Identity theft occurs when someone obtains your personal information and uses it to steal or commit fraud in your name. The simplest way to protect yourself from identity theft is to destroy all documents which contain your personal details, as soon as you stop needing them.

Be suspicious of anyone asking for your personal details. If you’re unsure about a telephone call you receive is from us, then call us back on our main number, that you have independently confirmed as being genuine, before giving any personal details. 

Never include all of your personal details, and especially your membership details, in an open email to us or to anyone else.

Please keep us up to date with any changes to your personal details, for example if you move house or change your email address.

You must let us know immediately if you think you’ve been the victim of fraud, if any security details are lost or stolen, or you know or think that someone has used or tried to use them.

Email scams ('Phishing')

Email scams try to trick you into giving away your security details by asking you to update or enter your confidential details on a fraudulent web page. These scams often involve an email with a link to a web page that may look genuine. You should be suspicious of any email or website that asks you for personal information.

Although we may send you emails from time to time, we will never ask you to update your details by email. If we send you an email with a link, we will include some unique information in message to help you confirm the email is genuine.

Please try to visit our website regularly to become familiar with our style and content. We only use secure pages for our website, so any information you type in is encrypted. You can quickly identify a secure page because the page name will begin with https and a padlock symbol will appear in the address bar. If you click on the padlock, you’ll be able to see the details of our security certification.

What to do if you receive a suspicious email

If you receive a suspicious email purporting to be from us, do not respond to it and do not follow any links in the email. Please contact our member services team immediately on +44 (0)20 7400 5710.

Looking after your security details

You should take all reasonable precautions to keep safe and prevent unauthorised use of your security details.

These precautions include, but are not limited to:

• not writing down or otherwise saving your security details
• not choosing security details that may be easy to guess
• taking care to ensure that no one hears or sees your security details when you use them
• keeping your security details unique to our online service
• not allowing anyone else to have or use your security details and not disclosing them to anyone, including us
• changing your security details immediately if you know, or think, that someone else knows any of those details
• ensuring that any devices that you use to access the online service are adequately protected with threat (including but not limited to malware) detection and prevention measures (anti-virus and anti-spyware software and a personal firewall)
• never accessing the online service from any computer connected to a local area network or any public internet access device or access point
• not leaving the device unattended or letting anyone else use the device until you have logged off the online service
• follow all security measures recommended by the manufacturer of the device you use to access the online service.