How To Stay Safe - on and Off Line

How To Stay Safe - On and Off Line

 Staying safe online is a lot easier these days, but this means that criminals have had to get smarter. It’s no longer as obvious as a badly spelled e-mail asking for bank details so you can receive a large inheritance from a long lost relative etc  Fraudsters can now accurately mimic e-mails from reputable businesses. It’s a good idea to get into the habit of never clicking on any ‘log in’ or ‘free voucher’ link in an e-mail.

Bookmark your important websites and use them to access your accounts instead.  Google any special offers that seem to be too good to be true – they usually are! Also, beware of Parcel Delivery Service (PDS) scams, where a card is posted through your door stating that you missed a delivery and you need to call an 0906 or 0208 number to rearrange your delivery. The number is a premium rate line, and will play an automated message while running up large charges on your phone line. The cards can look very similar to the Royal Mail’s ‘something for you’ card, but are missing the Royal Mail logo.

If you do receive a fraudulent e-mail, or PDS card it’s very easy to report. Action Fraud is the UK’s National Fraud and Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, and it only takes a few clicks to report any suspicious e-mails. www.actionfraud.police.uk Tel: 0300 123 2040.