Stay safe online

Don’t make it is easy for criminals, be vigilant and don’t compromise your security.

We are here to help you learn more on how to stay safe online and prevent fraud.

We take the security of your personal and financial information very seriously and no matter how sophisticated our controls are, we can’t do it alone.

At Foresters, to keep you safe, we will...

- Never ask for your MyPlans or MyForesters password
- Perform verification checks when you register your MyPlans account
- Automatically log you out from MyPlans & MyForesters after 20 mins of inactivity
- Ask you to create sophisticated passwords for your online accounts
- Review and update our security systems on a regular basis
- Review our internal IT policies on a regular basis
- Continue giving you a secure network when you are using foresters.com, MyPlans & MyForesters

Beware of fraudsters impersonating Foresters Financial

We are aware of some instances where fraudsters are making unsolicited contact with individuals and falsely claiming to work for Foresters Financial/Forester Life, in an attempt to gain access to an individual’s crypto assets. This type of scam is known as a clone firm investment scam and is on the rise across the financial services industry.

Any such contact is fraudulent and is not associated with the products or services Foresters Financial offer. Foresters Financial do not offer any compensation for any loss related to these types of scams.

Sharing your financial details

Online fraudsters can get hold of your details to carry out identify fraud. Make sure you are not sharing any of your personal or banking details with anyone. You wouldn’t share your bank account details online for everyone to see, and this should be the case with your information you hold with us.

Treat your Plan number like your bank account details, do not share these with others.

Use secure websites and networks

When purchasing online or even browsing, make sure the websites you are visiting are secure. On most browsers you will see a padlock icon near the URL (the search bar at the top), this means the website is secure.

If you are unsure you can check the URL, by clicking into the search bar and if the URL starts with ‘https’ then it means the site is secure – it is the ‘S’ that you are looking for! It is recommended that if the site it not secure (e.g 'hhtp') that you do not use it.

It is also important to be careful when downloading items online – if it looks fishy, don’t download it.

Use strong passwords and update them regularly

One of the simplest and most effective ways to keep safe online and restrict hackers access to your accounts is by having a strong password and updating it regularly.

Your password should have a mix of letters; lowercase and capitals, numbers and special characters like ‘!@£’. Avoid using your personal information, such as DOB, or your name within your password or common phrases. Come up with a non-related word for a password and change some of the characters to letters and special characters.

Avoiding viruses

Make sure you have the most up to date anti-virus software on your computers and the most up to date operating systems (the same applies for your mobile). Software updates for your devices will help keep you protected.

It's also helpful to regularly back up your computer/phone, so that it will help avoid some of the damage done by a potential virus.

Careful who you meet online

Unfortunately, not everyone who you meet online is who they claim to be; from fraudsters to robot hackers – so when talking to someone online, be extra vigilant.

Do not share your personal information, send any money or click on links they have sent - this goes for family and friends too, make sure to speak to them first before doing anything in case they have been hacked.

Watch out for phishing emails

These emails, or texts, want users to disclose private account or login information. If you receive these emails delete them and do not click on any links.

If you receive an email/text about missed payments and you think something isn’t right, call your provider to confirm (do not use any contact details contained in the email or text). A big phishing clue is looking at the sender, most companies will have their company name as the sender (and not a random number) and the email sender will look legit.

If ever in doubt, don’t chance it. Call your provider.

Limiting your data to the public

We don’t realise how much information we put out about ourselves online (including social media) that makes it easy for criminals to gather personal information. It is best to keep your social media account private, so you are only sharing this information with people you choose to.

Whether you have your accounts as private, or not, you should still limit the information available for example instead of sharing your full DOB, hide the year you were born. This way, people can still send you birthday posts, but not know your full details (and your age, which some scammers might find as a bonus).

Providing personal information

If you are providing your information to a company via their website, check their privacy policy and understand how they are processing your data and if they are sharing it with anyone else.

Do not save your login details on your devices, especially those that are shared!