20th March, 2023

Technology is constantly developing and as the software that we use becomes more advanced, so do the scammers who manipulate it. Cybercrime is more rampant than ever – according to the Fraud and Cyber Crime Report by money.co.uk, people of Britain lost more than £4billion in 2022 as a result. So, how can you avoid becoming a victim of online crime?

Firstly, it’s important to know the types of scams out there. One of the most common types is phishing, where a fraudster will impersonate a legitimate source, such as a business, colleague or even a friend, to trick you into providing your personal information or clicking an unsafe link.

Another popular method that scammers use is fake antivirus software, where you will get a seemingly random pop-up claiming that your computer is infected and that you need to download the software. However, clicking on the pop-up or downloading the file will result in your computer actually becoming infected.

Ghost broking, another type of scam, is prevalent within the insurance industry and is mostly carried out online. A fraudster, known as a ghost broker, will pretend to be a genuine insurance broker and trick unsuspecting victims into handing over their money in exchange for a ‘policy’ that is in fact fake. To learn more about ghost brokers and how to spot them, have a read of our previous blog.

Now, it’s all well and good knowing some of the methods that scammers use, but what about avoiding them? They’re not always easy to spot, but there are a few do’s and don’ts that you can keep in mind…

Don’t provide personal information to someone you don’t know

If someone that you don’t know or cannot verify is asking you to share personal information, do not provide it. A popular method used here is pretending to be from your bank and claiming that there is an issue on your account, followed by asking you to allow access to your account in order to ‘fix’ the issue, or they might even tell you that you need to move your money into a ‘safe’ account (spoiler – it’s not safe).

When this happens, don’t answer them. If you’re still concerned and want to double check that everything is in fact okay, directly contact whoever it is that they’re pretending to be.

Do be cautious of what you’re sharing online

We all love a social media post here and there, but do you really need to be filling out a public questionnaire with your pets name, the town you were born in, your anniversary and the model of your first car? Before hopping on the trend, consider that you could be handing over information that you’ve used as your password, PIN or security question, making it easy for someone with sinister intentions to eventually figure out.

Before posting to your social media accounts, ask yourself whether you’d be happy with strangers seeing the content that you’re about to post. If the answer is no, then either don’t post it or at least review and restrict your privacy settings so that only people you know and trust can view it.

Don’t reuse the same password

It really is so much easier to use the same password everywhere – easier for you to remember, easier for someone to hack all of your accounts if they figure out the password…

You might be thinking that it’s more convenient to use the same password and that there’s such a small chance that anything will happen, but almost everyone who’s ever fallen victim probably thought the same thing. For the sake of a little convenience, is it really worth it?

Do avoid connecting to public Wi-Fi

Public Wi-Fi is found almost everywhere nowadays and people often connect without giving it a moment’s thought, from cafés and shopping centres, to airports and even on a train. However, the issue with public Wi-Fi is that the security is often non-existent or so minimal that it may as well be non-existent.

A common attack via these public connections is for someone to intercept the data that is being sent from your computer to the server and read it – this is known as a ‘Man in the Middle’ attack.

Sometimes the public Wi-Fi might not even be real, as scammers have been known to set up fake spots that appear legitimate in order to trick people into connecting to them.

If you really must connect to the Wi-Fi then consider investing in a trustworthy Virtual Private Network (VPN) which will create a secure connection between your device and the network, encrypt your data and help to hide your online identity.

Don’t open suspicious emails or attachments

One of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to online scams is for cybercriminals to send a genuine-looking email to trick you into clicking a link or opening an attachment, which then either downloads some sort of virus or allows the scammer to access your online information. These types of emails often look like they’ve come from a business, such as your bank, energy provider or even HMRC, but they could also look like they’ve come from a family member or friend.

You can usually spot signs that it’s a scam if you look close enough, such as misspellings, grammatical errors or a poor quality logo. Also, if you’re on a laptop or computer then you can use your mouse to hover over a link and preview the website address before choosing to click it.

These methods are often used via email and text, but they’re also becoming more popular on social media platforms such as Facebook.

If a business or someone that you know does send an email or message that seems suspicious, try to contact them in a different way to confirm whether it actually came from them before interacting with it.

Do download a (genuine) antivirus software

A good antivirus software will prevent, detect and remove any harmful viruses or other types of harmful malware and ransomware from your device. It will scan websites and files that you open or download to check that there’s nothing suspicious, as well as letting you know when there’s anything potentially harmful on your device.

Once you’ve installed your chosen software, make sure to keep it updated.

So, while we can’t guarantee that we’ll never fall victim to cybercrime, there are plenty of steps that we can take to protect ourselves – a little caution now could save you a lot of time, money and stress in the long run.


Written by: Shannan Errington

*Please note that the above information has been gathered through secondary research. The information provided is not based on our opinion. You should seek further guidance and information before making an informed decision.

Sources:
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/individual-protection
https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/online-fraud/cyber-crime-fraud
https://uk.norton.com/blog/online-scams/5-most-popular-scams-in-2020
https://www.money.co.uk/credit-cards/fraud-report
https://uk.norton.com/blog/privacy/risks-of-public-wi-fi