Frequently asked questions

We would like to apologise for any concern this may have caused you.

Questions Answers
1. Was my account affected and is my money safe? Your money is safe. There is no evidence of fraudulent activity arising on any of our customers' accounts as a result of the theft. All Nationwide customers, in any event, are protected by our promise that if you are the innocent victim of fraud, you will not lose out. There is nothing you specifically need to do.
2. Is there any action I should take now? There is nothing specific you need to do now with regard to your Nationwide accounts. We have introduced additional security measures to protect our customers but it is important that you continue to be careful in protecting your personal information. In particular:
  • Nationwide will never ask you for your memorable data or Passnumber.
  • Keep your PINs and passwords secure - never write them down or reveal them to anyone.
  • Avoid using obvious passwords like your date of birth or home phone number.
  • Always check your statements thoroughly.
  • Destroy bills, receipts and other financial papers, preferably by using a shredder.
  • If you move house, have your mail redirected and give your new address to your bank or building society.
3. I want a new card/passbook/account number. You really don't need one. There is no need for you to worry. In any event, if you ever were the innocent victim of fraud, you would not lose out.
4. Is it safe to use the online bank? Yes. No PINs, passwords, account balance information or memorable data has been lost as a result of the theft of the laptop.
5. Can I carry on using my account or my existing card? Yes, you can still use your account as normal, and your existing card is still valid.
6. What information has been stolen? The information on the stolen laptop was security protected. Additionally, there were no PINs, passwords, account balance information or memorable data contained on the laptop. We have been advised by the police not to release further detail as a security precaution.
7. What are you doing about this? We have been monitoring all our accounts for any unusual activity, and there has been none. We constantly review our security arrangements and a number of additional measures have been taken. We can reassure you that there has been no loss of money from our customers' accounts as a result of this incident. In addition, we have written to all our customers to remind them of the standard security measures they should take and to be vigilant.
8. The FSA criticised you for taking so long to do anything about this. Why the three week delay before taking action? In this particular case we acknowledge it shouldn't have taken so long. As a result of this experience, we have reviewed and tightened our procedures.
9. Where is the money coming from to pay the fine, and does the size of it mean lower savings rates or higher mortgage rates? We have assets of £130 billion and reserves of over £5 billion. The fine will have no impact on our interest rates.
10. What do I do if I suspect there is fraudulent activity on my account? Contact us immediately.
11. Why did you replace some cards? For security reasons we would never discuss why an individual card has been replaced. But we can tell you that, in the normal course of our business, we replace over a million cards a year.

 
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