Just a very short scam bulletin this week as I’m actually on holiday (staycation) this week.
Back to normal next week and in the meantime you can ask your questions and get discussing your cyber/scam issues on our Network discussion website here.
I am very interested to hear of the experiences people have been having with scams and fraud – not just emails, but also phone scams, doorstep callers, postal scams etc. Have you or your family, friends or neighbours been subject to scams? What have you done about it? Do you know what to do about it? Perhaps you can email me your experiences, or better still, share some of those experiences on our Network discussion website?
There are a lot of words associated with scams, hacking, cyber fraud and so on. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has assembled a simple glossary of these terms here and there’s a very useful infographic version here. Now you can understand what is meant by Two-Factor Authentication (which you should know about if you’re doing much with online accounts) or the Internet-of-things (and much more).
Speaking of the Internet-of-things… Smart devices are all the rage these days. Do you have an Alexa device in your home? A Google Device? Perhaps a new Facebook Portal to keep in touch with relatives. If you do, then you need to read this advice page from NCSC where they explain what you need to do to make sure you’re keeping it safe and risk free.
And finally for this short bulletin: are you aware of the Mailing Preference Service? It allows you to register to stop some of that unsolicited post. The website is here https://www.mpsonline.org.uk//# and it’s pretty easy to register. And if you receive written correspondence you believe to be from fraudsters, you can forward it to Royal Mail with a covering letter to: Freepost Scam Mail, PO Box 797, Exeter EX1 9UN. You can also email scam.mail@royalmail.com or call 0345 611 3413.
Need to get to understand any of these issues in this bulletin more? You can discuss them on our NEL Watch Network discussion website in the Scams Group.
https://www.biglocalnorthcleethorpes.org.uk/nelwatchnetwork
or contact me.
Back next week…
Karl Elliott, karl@vanel.org.uk
Development Manager, VANEL