Think you're scam savvy? Try this quiz from Take Five to see just how clued in you actually are!

  What is Phishing??   Phishing is a form of cyber-crime where the criminals try to trick people into clicking on links in emails – these links can download malware to your device allowing the criminal to hack in to your device and damage or hijack your files. Another common trick is to make people click on to links which will take them to fake websites (they look like the real thing) and get you to enter your passwords and/or credit card details – the attacker will now have access to these details and can steal your hard earned money! Some tips for staying safe from phishing attacks are: 1.     Know what a phishing scam looks like – keep up to date with all the latest attacks by going to the National Cyber Security Centre website who provide regular updates on the latest scams. 2.     Do not click on the link! Many phishing attacks look exactly like they come from who they are purporting to be. 3.     Ensure you regularly allow updates to your device – secu

  October is Cybersecurity Awareness month! There are lots of great websites out there to help us stay safe and secure when online. My personal favourites include the National Cyber Security Centre . They have a wealth of great resources and tips for ensuring you can stay safe online.   Another excellent website is Action Fraud who provide great Cyber Security Advice and free resources for small businesses to help protect themselves against cyber crime. They also provide the most up to date news on new and emerging scams – a great source of information to keep yourself informed and safe.   My final recommendation today is the USA’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency website which has many tips and pointers to help prevent you becoming the victim of cybercrime.  

  Romance fraud or scams are big business! According to recent figures from Action Fraud , almost £92 million has been stolen from victims this year alone! So what exactly is a romance fraud? According to Crimestoppers it is “when you think you’ve met the perfect partner online, but they are using a fake profile to form a relationship with you”.   These scammers build fake profiles on dating websites to try and build relationships with prospective victims, this is commonly known as Catfishing. They don’t just limit themselves to dating websites and have been known to reach out to people on gaming websites and via social media profiles such as Facebook and Instagram to name a few. These catfishers deploy social engineering tactics to try to gain the trust of people they would deem as susceptible to their methods, commonly targeting social media profiles where the owner is listed as divorced or widowed. They can be very convincing and often make the victim believe they are a real

  Tips for staying safe online Let’s talk cybersecurity! Over the last few years my elderly parents and relatives have become more and more involved with using Facebook and Whatsapp. The catalyst for this for my parents was the COVID 19 lockdowns. Their sense of isolation was made much less by being able to see what their friends and family were up to and to communicate with them on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis. So both parents were furnished with smart phones and taught how to have live chats with family and friends using Facebook messenger and video calling via Whattsapp. The learning part was a painful process on mine and my sisters’ part – we had to show them how to operate these apps in minute detail, probably talking them through the process at least 50 times until it eventually sunk in!! If my dad asks me one more time how to turn his phone torch on I may scream and run away. Despite the challenges, they are both happily video calling, sending texts, availing of Facebo