Physical & Online Information Security

Allied Business Bookkeeping takes your information and online security very seriously.
The following is a detailed overview of how you can protect your information physically and online.

Reducing the Risk of identity theft, follow these practices:

To reduce the risk of identity theft, follow these practices:

Secure your physical letterbox with a lock to prevent mail from being stolen.
Shred documents that contain personal information before discarding them.
Never share personal information with people you do not know or trust.
Do not post confidential information about yourself on social media. This includes your full name, date of birth, address, or phone number, as criminals can use this to impersonate you.

When to Seek Assistance

Notify your provider immediately in the following circumstances:

If your card, phone, or device is lost or stolen.
If you suspect an error, unauthorised access, or an unauthorised transaction on your account.
If someone discovers your Personal Identification Number (PIN), passcodes, or passwords.
If you have given your banking details in response to an unsolicited email, an unknown caller, or entered them into any suspicious website.
If you notice a transaction you do not recognise or remember in your account statement, online banking, or transaction history.
If you spot content you do not recognise or remember when regularly checking your Open Banking data sharing permissions (consents for banking data to be shared with an accredited third party).
If your email, address, or contact details change, you should let your provider know straight away.
If you believe something is wrong with your account, let your provider know immediately.

Three Ways to Minimise the Chance of Being Scammed: Stop, Check, Protect

This strategy offers three steps to minimise the chance of being scammed:

Stop: Pause before acting on an email, text, or call, and question if it could be a scam.
Check: Verify who is contacting you before sharing any personal information. Always check that the business email or phone number is registered by visiting their official website.
Protect: Act quickly if something feels wrong. This includes hanging up the phone, reporting the suspicious email or text, and immediately contacting your bank if you have shared banking details or noticed a suspicious transaction.

Card and Device Security

Do not permit anyone else to use your card or any device where you have a digital wallet set up.
Do not share your card PIN, device PIN, or PIN pattern with anyone.
Regularly check to ensure you still have possession of your card and device.
Sign the back of new cards as soon as you receive them.
When a card expires, destroy it by cutting through the embedded microchip, magnetic strip, and security code (CVV).
Avoid using an electronic banking facility (such as an ATM, EFTPOS terminal, or payment website) if you suspect something is wrong, as fraudsters may use fake equipment to steal cards or capture PIN details.
Treat your device like your wallet or purse and keep it close at all times.
Be aware that if anyone else has biometric access (like Touch ID or Face ID) set up on your device, they may be able to access your banking accounts and alter some settings, which could impact your liability for unauthorised transactions.

Keeping Banking Information secure

Do not share your passwords, PINs, passcodes, or pattern locks, and prevent anyone from watching you enter them.
When accessing your provider’s website, type the address directly into your browser instead of clicking a link from an email, SMS, pop-up window, or your browser history.
Make your password, passcode, or PIN difficult to guess. Do not choose one that is easily identified with you, such as your birth date, car registration, telephone number, or name.
Be careful with your passwords, passcodes, and PINs: avoid writing them down or recording them in a device, and choose a different one for each of your cards.
Do not enter your PIN or passcode into a web page opened from an email or SMS link, even if it appears to be from your bank.
Do not share your one-time passcode for secure online transactions with anyone unless you initiated the online purchase.

General Safety Tips

Treat all unexpected emails, SMS messages, or phone calls with caution.
Your bank will not send you a link in unexpected SMS messages. If you receive an SMS with a phone number asking you to contact your bank, search their official website to verify the number is legitimate where possible. Treat any unexpected SMS messages containing a link as suspicious.
Your bank will never send you an email or SMS asking you to provide your personal or banking details via a link or attachment, nor will they send you a link directly to online banking. If you receive such a message claiming to be from your bank, do not act on it. Instead, forward the message to the reported phishing email address and then delete it. You can also forward a suspicious SMS to the reported number.
If you feel a call might not be genuine, hang up and call back on an official phone number (listed on the back of cards and online) to verify its legitimacy. Never provide personal information or allow a caller to have remote access to your computer on unsolicited calls.
Your bank might send you a security code to verify your identity when you call them. This is the only code they will ask you to provide to them. Read the entire SMS before sharing that code. Otherwise, do not provide the one-time passcode or security codes to anyone calling you, even if they claim to be from your bank.
Your bank will never ask you to enter your one-time passcode into a third-party website.
When adding your card to a digital wallet, you will receive a verification code to complete the enrolment. Never share this code with anyone else or enter it into a website.
If your mobile phone unexpectedly stops working, contact your service provider to check if you have been a victim of ‘mobile phone porting’. This is a scam where your phone number is transferred to another provider so scammers can intercept SMS passcodes.
Regularly update your software, apps, and operating systems, and consider turning on automatic updates.
When downloading apps, ensure they are only from official App stores. Never download an app from a link in an email or SMS.
Only use trusted devices and trusted WIFI networks for online banking. Never accept a request to download a program or certificate to your device to use a public WIFI network.
Install up-to-date anti-virus software on your devices to detect and prevent online attacks.
When disposing of old devices, you must erase personal data, deregister from services, delete your card from any digital wallets or apps, and perform a factory reset.
Report any scams to the relevant government service for scams.
Keep informed about online threats and advice by visiting your bank’s security page or the relevant government cyber security centre.

Privacy Policy

For more information on how Allied Business Bookkeeping manages your privacy, please visit our Privacy Policy web page:

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