Big thanks to Mark Godsland from Thames Valley Police for sharing his talk on cyber security, provided by The National Cyber Securty Centre, at the Newbury Neighbourhood Watch Meeting on 15 October 2024.

Please remember that no one is safe from fraud. The criminals behind it target people online and in their homes, often using an emotional angle to manipulate their targets. By staying vigilant and taking a moment to consider what someone is telling us in an email or over the phone, we can help protect ourselves and each other from fraud. According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, between September 2022 and 2023, 1 in 17 adults were victims of fraud.

Keep your email account secure

Your email is where you keep your most personal and financial information.

If a cyber criminal accesses your email, they could:

• access your other online accounts using the ‘forgot password’ feature (which often sends you an email)
• access personal or business information and use this to scam you or people you know

1. It’s really important to have a strong password on your email account.
A good way to do this is by combining three random words (read about the NCSC’s logic behind this here) All of your passwords should be different but combining three everyday words will create passwords that are easy to remember but hard to crack. Do not use easy to guess words like pet names, and include numbers and symbols if you would like.

2. Use a password manager to help you keep track of your different passwords.
They securely save your passwords for you and also help you spot if you’ve reused a password, identify risky websites, and notify you if any of your passwords have been leaked in a data breach. See more on password managers here.

3. Use Two Step Verification (2SV).
2SV works by adding another level of identification when you’re accessing your accounts to make them even more secure, such as having a code sent to your phone. This will not be something you have to do every time you check your emails, but is a way to confirm your identity and make your accounts and information safer. See more on 2SV here.

Protect your data

In case you do get hacked or have a technical problem with your computer remember to Back up important data, and installing the latest software updates.

How to avoid online scams

The main form of online scam is phishing, where scammers create convincing messages from banks, email providers, companies or personal contacts, and prompt people to follow links to a website which may install a virus, or steal your information. More information on phishing here.

Data Breaches

A data breach occurs when large amounts of information are illegally obtained from an organisation. Criminals can use this information to create phishing messages so that they appear legitimate. This will make the message appear as if it was sent only to you, when in fact it has been sent to potentially millions of users. Even if your data wasn’t stolen, scammers can use your knowledge of the breach to trick you into clicking on dangerous links.

What to do if you receive something suspicious

– if you recieve a suspicious call or text, report it by forwarding it to 7726.

– if you recieve a suspicious email, report it by forwarding it to report@phishing.gov.uk

– use this link to check a suspicious website address, and here to report it.

– use this link to report spam texts or nuisance calls.

Social Engineering

There are aspects to fraud and cyber crime that don’t take place online. Social engineering is the term given to a malicious tactic to manipulate people into revealing personal information or make security mistakes. This normally happens in multiple steps, with the perpetrator first researching their target, before gaining their trust and using that leverage to gain access to sensitive information and resources.

There are many ways we can protect ourselves from social engineering:

• Think before you act
• Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know
• If an offer or deal seems too good to be true, it probably is
• Stay aware of your online surroundings
• Keep your accounts and details private
• Don’t post your location online, this gives a lot of information away

What to do if you are scammed

– report it to Action Fraud, the Reporting Centre for the National Cyber Security Centre. Contact them at actionfraud.police.uk, or 0300 123 2040 or their regional website southeastcyber.police.uk and they will give you a crime reference number.
– report it to Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133 who can give advice and can pass information to the local trading standards service. There is also online help via the Consumer service – Citizens Advice.
– report it to your bank/credit card