Complete Privacy

We believe your private information should remain just that.

It is stored on a computer and guarded both physically and electronically by our 24-hour surveillance system, which has been designed to be one of the most secure around. If you wish to access and manage your account online, we ask you to have a Windows PC with Internet Explorer 5.5 or above.

Safe Shopping Promise

It's an unpleasant fact that you're always vulnerable to online and phone crime. From having your identity and financial information stolen and your computer damaged through viruses or used to attack other people's computers to being hit with spam or scam emails. Criminals can also trick you into handing over personal information, hack into your wireless network or use email to cheat or bully you.

There are a number of areas we need to look at when preserving our security:

How can I safeguard my personal details?

Beware of 'phishing', this involves receiving emails that carry links to websites that attempt to acquire your personal information like account numbers, PIN number or CVV number (the security number on the reverse of your debit/credit card), for illegal purposes.

Banks and most organizations will not use email to request personal information. If you receive an email you think is suspicious you should not reply to it, or follow any of the links within. Instead log out and type in the full website address to ensure you are on the correct site.

Before entering any personal or card details online you should ensure the website is secure. Look for 'https://www...' at the beginning of the website address (the 's' standing for secure) of any page asking you for personal or credit card details, together with a small image of a locked padlock or unbroken key in the bottom right of the window frame of the browser.

Don't be fooled by a padlock that appears on the web page itself - it's all too easy for someone to copy the image of a padlock without having the security certificate that goes with it.

How can I ensure my computer is secure?

Always keep your computer passwords safe. Ideally you should change them regularly, they should be difficult to guess and never be written down. Always keep your anti-virus and firewall software up to date.

Take extra care when using a computer other than your own, such as a friend's or a computer at an internet cafe.

Remember not to leave your computer unlocked if there is any personal information displayed on your screen.

It is good practice not to always use your machine in administrator mode as this lets anyone breaking into your computer use your greater permissions to tamper with your machine. Use a user account for day to day usage.

When disposing of a computer always safeguard your personal information that might be stored on the machine by ensuring that the hard drive is destroyed.

How can I protect my personal details over the telephone?

Fraudsters may also attempt to steal your personal or financial details by calling you on the telephone. The most likely methods involve a caller purporting to be from a bank, consumer group or retailer. The caller will ask for confirmation of personal details, possibly for a refund or an update of records; this will normally involve getting, personal, card or bank details. If you receive a call from Choiceful.com and you want to make sure you are genuinely speaking to us you can always end the call, and then call us back using the telephone number featured on the web site. Also be wary of any mobile text (SMS) message that encourages you to respond by text. Choiceful.com will never ask you to send a text in response to an SMS message from us.

Is there anything else I can do to protect myself from fraud?

Check your debit/credit card statements regularly and contact your card issuer immediately if you see any irregular transactions.

Make sure you keep your contact details up to date with your debit or credit card company, in case they need to contact you with regard to a transaction. If you're concerned about the security of your debit or credit card you might want to contact your card provider to see if they provide card protection. For further free expert advice and a glossary of useful terms log on to www.getsafeonline.org opens in a new window