The PC is now 30 years old, over the last few years more of us are trusting the computer to hold our financial information.

Not a problem if the PC never leaves your side but since your PC may have a life far longer than expected it could be a huge problem.

Most companies and households use PCs for maybe 5 years then replace them, but what happens to the old machine?

Mostly it ends up on a rubbish tip but sometimes the machine is recycled and sent to the third world.

You would hope that whoever took the PC off your hands would ensure your data is cleaned but this is not always the case.

Incidents in the news highlight the thousands of Britons who may have their financial details being passed to fraudsters in countries such as Nigeria. So, how can you make sure this cyber fraud never affects you:

Always ask a computer expert to clean the hard disk for you if you intend to dispose of the machine, but make sure you are getting a professional service

• Fraud risk to recycled PCs
• Recycling law boosts hi-tech transfer
• Recycled PCs posing data leak risk
• UK bank details sold in Nigeria