Holiday Coast Credit Union has a policy of never asking members for their password, pin number or personal banking details in an email, an online message or on the phone. We are urging members to never hand those details over to anyone, and to report to us any approaches they receive.

No matter how small your account, no-one is immune from cyber-crime. Savings accounts, retirement savings, mortgage redraw facilities - they are all vulnerable to attack.

Members using Internet Banking services are advised to take the following precautions:

• Change your password frequently, and use passwords with a mixture of alpha and numeric characters which are harder to guess;
• To have anti-virus software and personal firewall products. Anti-virus software should be updated frequently. Firewall products with security patches or newer versions should be updated frequently. Members are recommended to never install software or run programs of unknown origin;
• Never send your account number and password in response to any email, for any reason. You will never be asked for this information by the Credit Union or any financial institution;
• Report any such request for account number and password immediately;
• Don't click on links within emails for the purpose of visiting your financial institutions website;
• Always look for SSL connection, indicated as https:// at the top of the screen;
• Always be on the alert for fake websites and suspicious emails purporting to be from your Credit Union, and report these immediately;
• Avoid using computers at public places, such as Internet cafes, to undertake any Internet Banking functions;
• If you have used a public computer for Internet Banking, delete the history in the browser immediately and empty the trash can straight away - don't leave your details for someone else to find;
• Turn off your broadband after use. Criminals use open bandwidths to exploit vulnerabilities in programs and to upload keyloggers;
• Consider using security tools provided by the companies listed below, to find out whether your computer is exposed to Virus or Security threats.