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Staying Safe

Stay Safe Online

Fraudsters have been conning people out of their money and possessions for centuries, but these days technological advances have given them even more ways to deceive and cheat you, and relieve you of your money.  By using the phone or Internet they can do so without your knowing anything about who they are, or their whereabouts – most likely they are not even in the UK.

The “bad guys” have three ways they can exploit:

Protect yourself!

So your defences are:

Do not give your bank account or credit card details to anybody who does not have the right to have them!  

You wouldn’t give them to someone who came to your door, so why give them over the phone, or on the Internet?

Remember:

No bank or credit card company will call you and ask you for your account details.

The Police will not call you to say your account has been compromised and ask you for your account details.

Microsoft, Apple, nor any other reputable company, will phone you to say you have a problem on your computer that they can fix for you.  BT will not phone you to say your account is frozen till you pay a bill.

Protect your Computer, Tablet or Smart phone

Help and advice you can trust

Hertfordshire Constabulary use Online Watch Link, OWL, www.owl.co.uk, the online Neighbourhood Watch, to keep communities safe, help reduce crime and keep people informed of what's going on locally. OWL sends you the latest local crime reports, scam warnings and advice.  Sign up at www.owl.co.uk.

Get Safe Online, www.getsafeonline.org, is the UK’s leading source of unbiased, easy to understand information on online safety.  The website gives practical advice on protecting yourself, your computers and mobile devices, and your business, against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other online problems.

Be Cyber Streetwise, www.cyberstreetwise.com, is a cross-government campaign, funded by the National Cyber Security Programme, to help you protect your device, your data and your business.  They advise:

          Use strong passwords                        Download software updates

Computer Friendly runs an Online Security course and we give security advice on our Starter courses. Please read our Telephone and Internet Scams leaflet.

Protect yourself from Scams

How do you recognise a scam? A scam is usually uninvited (unsolicited) from a company or person you’ve never heard of.  

A scam will:

Phishing – (pronounced 'fishing') is the most widespread email scam. It uses an email that looks as if it comes from a bank or credit card company, asking you to submit details of your account.

Report the phishing attempt to your bank or credit card company.