Cyber-warning for festive shoppers
Online Shoppers are being warned of the risks of cyber-fraud during the festive season.
How Much Information Is Online About You?
CIFAS have released a video showing just how quickly and easily criminals may find this information on social media.
TOP TIPS
- Update privacy settings across your social media, and make sure only your real friends are your friends/followers on these sites.
- Think before you post on social media; do you really need to share information such as dates of birth or phone numbers on these sites?
Giving Away Your Passwords Without Realising?
Many people use passwords which relate to something in their personal lives:
- names of their children, or other family members
- names of pets
- dates of birth
- hobbies & interests
- or they use common passwords such as password; password123; or football123
...and many post all of this information on social media for anyone to see - and potentially use against you!
TOP TIPS
- Make sure you have strong, unique passwords for your accounts.
- Look at the advice sheet on passwords for more information and advice on this.
Look Out For Spearphishing Emails
Page likes and status updates about your interests may let criminals know more about your lifestyle.
By seeing this, fraudsters can tailor specific emails to you based on a hobby or interest to make it more likely that you will send over the information, or money, they need to scam you.
TOP TIPS
- Be vigilant of any spontaneous email offering you something which appears too good to be true.
- Check the email address of the sender to see if it is claiming to be a genuine company or not.
- Always go directly to a website to claim any offer, rather than clicking on links within an email – just to be on the safe side.
Social Media Traps
Think when finding out your Superhero name - what information might it share about you? Many quizzes and games use your date of birth; name; pet names; and other personal details you may not want to share with everyone online.
Also think before giving a third-party app permission to your profile.
THINK: Why does anyone need your photos, friends' info and various other content, just to see which Harry Potter character you are for fun?
Visit the social media companies' own pages for more information:
Concerned about apps young people are using? Go to Internet Matters for more in depth help and information.
One more thing!
Don’t post on social media that you are about to go/are on holiday! This lets potential burglars know that your home is empty. Some insurers may not pay out if they see that you have posted such statuses, and are burgled while away.
