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It's worth bearing in mind that in most cases fraud is nothing to do with computer crime; instead it's to do with carelessness with personal information such as passwords. But with a few simple steps you can protect yourself.
Passwords
Never give your password details to anyone, except when asked to provide individual letters from your password when talking to Egg on the phone. Egg will never ask you for your full password, except when you log in to the secure area of our website or when setting up or resetting security over the phone.
You should avoid using the same password for your Egg account as you do on other websites and ideally you should choose a password containing a mixture of numbers and letters. To change your password, log in to 'your accounts' and select the option to 'Change your password' under the 'Security details' tab.
Suspicious emails - 'phishing'
Phishing is the term given to emails that attempt to fraudulently obtain your security details. The emails usually look quite genuine but may contain spelling and grammatical errors and are often not personally addressed. They will typically talk about security website problems and ask you to click on a link and enter your security details into what may look like a genuine Egg website. It's very important you do not use these links and enter your security details, as there is a strong risk of fraud if you do.
Egg will never send you an email asking you for confidential or personal security information. If we have a security problem with your account we'll contact you directly. If we cannot contact you directly we may send an email asking you to call us as soon as possible.
If you receive what you think is a phishing email please forward to spoof@egg.com and then delete it from your inbox. Don't click on any links or provide any of your security details. In some cases a malicious program that captures your keystrokes could be downloaded to your PC without your knowledge, just by selecting a link. For more information about phishing, please read our
phishing information page.
Quick log in
This involves Egg placing a cookie on your computer allowing us to recognise you.
Then you just enter your password and mother's maiden name to log in.
To disable quick log in, log in to 'your accounts', select the 'Security details' tab and then 'disable quick log in' - you'll be given options to change your log in.
We recommend that you don't use 'quick log in' on a shared computer as you cannot be sure the antivirus, firewall and browser software are the latest versions and are up to date.
Logging out
Never leave your PC unattended when logged in to the secure area of the website.
Always log out securely by selecting the 'log out' button at the top right of the screen. If other people use your PC, close your browser when you've finished.
Software updates
To ensure your computer is secure you need to use the latest version of any software products. You should register your products for support and subscribe to any alert and/or update services offered.
If you use Windows XP, Windows 2000 Service Pack (SP3) or later, or Windows Millennium Edition (Me): Automatic Updates delivers updates to your computer automatically, so that's the easiest and most reliable way to make sure that you get new security updates as soon as they become available.
If you use Windows 2000 SP2 or earlier, Windows 98, Windows 95, or Windows NT Workstation 4: You can go to 'Windows Update' for the latest security updates (make sure to return regularly).
For Mac software updates go to www.apple.com/uk/support.
Antivirus and antispyware
Make sure your computer is protected against viruses and spyware by installing protective software. You should make sure your products are set to actively scan files as they are accessed.
It's also important to stay up to date by downloading the latest versons on a regular basis. If you product supports auto updates we recommend you set this to automatically check for updates every time you connect to the internet.
Firewalls
We recommend you use a firewall to reduce the likelihood of unauthorised access to your PC from the internet. Software firewalls are built into certain systems such as Microsoft Windows XP, or you can get separate firewall software from software retailers. Some broadband services include firewall functionality with their user access service - if you're unsure about these please contact your service provider. If you do use a software firewall please ensure you update it regularly.
Wireless networks
If you use a wireless network to access the internet please ensure you follow the manufacturer's instructions for setting it up securely.
Public or shared computers
If you have to access your accounts from a PC that is not your own then you must ensure the PC you use has the latest antivirus, firewall and software updates installed. We recommend you don't use a publicly available PC (eg in an internet cafe, library or university) to access your Egg accounts, as it's much more difficult to guarantee they're secure and you're more likely to be overlooked by others. If you're in any doubt about the security of a PC, our advice is, don't use it to access your secure information.
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Egg Home > Security and privacy > Protecting yourself > 
