Our Guide to Keeping Safe Online
We recently attended a conference at Hertfordshire Police Headquarters about keeping your business safe online. Speakers included representatives from Lloyds Bank, City of London Police, Kaspersky and Hertfordshire Constabulary.
Did you know?
- 1.2 cyber crimes are reported to Action Fraud per minute.
- Cyber fraud is estimated to cost the UK £193bn on average per annum.
- Men lose on average almost x3 as much money to cyber criminals than women.
- The average loss for men was £2,354 compared with only £809 for women.
- You are 20 times more likely to be robbed while at your computer by a criminal based overseas than to be robbed in the street
- 6.3 million people reported in 2015 that they had been a victim of some sort of cyber offence
- 5 million people had to cancel their credit card in 2015 due to cyber fraud
The overwhelmingly theme of the day was just how many scams there are online and how it is your own physical action and awareness that can make all the difference in staying safe online.
While the conference was mainly geared towards businesses we picked up some useful tips that we thought you might find interesting.
Cyber frauds can take the following forms:
- Account takeover
- Advance fee frauds
- Bank card and cheque fraud
- Business directory fraud
- Business opportunity fraud
- Charity donation fraud
- Clairvoyant or psychic scams
- Click fraud
- Domain name scams
- Fraud recovery fraud
- Government agency scams
- Health scams
- Holiday fraud
- Identity fraud
- Inheritance fraud
- Internet auction fraud
- Internet dialler scam
- Land banking scams
- Loan scams
- Lottery scams
- Mass marketing fraud
- Miracle health scams
- Money muling
- Online shopping fraud
- Plastic card fraud
- Rental fraud
- Romance scams
- Vehicle matching scams
- West African or 419 scam
- Work from home scams
Please visit Action Fraud to find out about each individual type of fraud in greater detail. http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/fraud-az-online-fraud
How can you prevent yourself from becoming a victim of cyber crime?
Passwords:
A strong password is your first line of defence against possible cyber attacks. While it is tempting to use a simple, quick to remember password across all of your accounts this can make it easier for any potential hackers to infiltrate all of your accounts.
Try to make them more complex and use different passwords for different accounts. Please remember to keep your passwords safe and don’t share them with anyone!
Keep your personal information private:
If anyone contacts you asking for your personal information, such as your name, bank details or contact information, make sure you verify their identity. If you don’t feel comfortable with the answers they give you then do not share your information. For example if they claim to be from your bank hang up and contact your bank on a number displayed on correspondence or on their secure website.
Beware of phishing emails:
Some fraudulent emails can look incredibly convincing and completely legit; however it is important to remember that your bank will never contact you by email asking for any personal information or your account login details. Again contact your bank directly if you receive one of these emails.
A few signs to look out for are:
- An urgent request for information or login details
- A request for a balance transfer
- Email from an unusual sender address or an unexpected contact
Make sure you don’t click on any links or attachments as this could download a virus or allow someone to hijack your computer.
Protect your identity:
Destroy and shred any receipts or bills that contain your name, address and card details. It can be incredibly easy for a fraudster to clone your identity.
Shop safely online:
With an increasing amount of shopping now taking place online it is important to be careful to protect yourself.
When possible register your card with Verified by Visa or MasterCard Secure Code, which adds an additional layer of security by requesting a password for online transactions with signed-up retailers. If you can pay by credit card as this is a more secure method of payment and offers more protection than a debit card if your card was to be used fraudulently.
Make sure the website you are buying from is secure and check the company is a legitimate business; check their details with Companies House. You can check if a site is secure by:
- Look for a padlock symbol next to the website address. While this suggests that the site is secure it is no guarantee that the seller is legit.
- If you then click on the padlock you should be able to see information regarding the site certificate and who has registered the site. If a warning about the certificate appears then you should be very cautious about proceeding to shop on that site.
- The web address in the address bar should begin with https:// the ‘S’ stands for secure. If it just begins with http:// the site may not be secure.
What should you do if you believe you have been a victim of fraud?
If you have been a victim of fraud you should contact Action Fraud either by calling them on 0300 123 2040 or via their website www.actionfraud.police.uk.
If the fraud involves your credit/debit cards or online banking then you should get in touch with your bank or credit company immediately.
KDW and Online Fraud:
If you ever receive an email, letter or phone call from an adviser or someone purporting to be from KDW, asking for your True Potential login details, bank details or other sensitive information, DO NOT reply. Instead please forward us the email or as much detail as you can so we can investigate and take action where appropriate. Scammers are increasingly getting more sophisticated, and can look, read or sound exceptionally convincing these days. Always take a cautious approach to any unexpected solicitations. Do not hesitate to hang up or delete mails that you’re unsure about, and if necessary contact us on our direct office number to verify anything at all. We’ll always be glad to assist.