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Yes, data on customer savings accounts from a total of 86 financial organisations has been lost, involving around 7.2 million child benefit claimants. All these organisations will be contacting their customers whose data has been lost about this incident.

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The accounts where details have been lost are those which have child benefit paid into them. If your account does not have child benefit paid directly into it, you will not be affected.

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Yes. At this stage, there is no evidence of a fraud having been committed. In addition, the Society is doing all it can to ensure that no customer loses any of their savings as a result of this incident, and that customers' personal data is not further compromised.

Your savings remain safe with the Yorkshire.

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Althought the loss of data has no connection with the YBS, we are doing everything we can to minimise the impact to you and your savings.

In the meantime, we have implemented a series of additional procedures to seek to ensure that no unauthorised transactions take place and that personal information is not further compromised. These measures include:

• Putting a security flag or notice on each account where child benefit payments are made by the Inland Revenue
• A system of continuous account surveillance
• Full customer identity verification for each transaction to check activity on affected accounts
• Creation of a dedicated helpline for customer enquiries - 0800 024 1979

If your account is affected and you want to transact on the account, you may experience some delays while we complete extra verification checks. We apologise for any inconvenience but the additional checks are to ensure the security of your savings with us.

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• Keep your passbooks, ATM cards, PINs and passwords secure (Remember: Yorkshire Building Society will never ask you to reveal these)
• Never reveal your PIN or password to anyone or write it down.
• Do not use a PIN or password that could be easily guessed by someone else.
• Change your PIN or password immediately if you suspect someone else could know it.
• If you use a PC for banking, keep it updated with current anti-virus software, the latest browser versions and relevant security patches/updates, and use a firewall to protect your PC from hacking attacks.
• Do not send us any confidential account information via email.
• Beware of 'phishing' emails. If you mistakenly respond to a phishing email, tell us about it straight away.
• Check your post or email carefully for possible evidence of fraudulent activity, e.g. unexpected confirmation of financial applications.

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• Check the Inland Revenue website
• Ring the Inland Revenue helpline on 0845 302 1444
• Call in to your nearest YBS branch
• Ring our Call Centre's dedicated helpline on 0800 024 1979.

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The following websites offer some general information and advice:

• YBS: www.ybs.co.uk/security_privacy/index.jsp
  We have information about a range of security measures on our website.

  
  

• CIFAS: www.cifas.org.uk
  CIFAS is the UK's Fraud Prevention Service

  
  

• Bank Safe Online: www.banksafeonline.org.uk
  Keep up to date with tips to identify and protect yourself from the latest scams.

  
  

• Financial Services Authority: www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/news/identity_fraud.html
  The FSA is the financial services industry Regulator and this is their consumer advice website.

  
  

• Office of Fair Trading: www.oft.gov.uk/oft_at_work/consumer_initiatives/scams
  The OFT provides infromation about recognising and dealing with scams.

  
  

• Home Office: www.identitytheft.org.uk
  The Home Office website provides advice on what to do if you suffer from identity fraud.

Note: None of the external sites or vendors are specifically endorsed or recommended by Yorkshire Building Society.