Posts

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The 12 signs your email could be under attack

Cybersecurity experts have revealed a list of the 12 most common subject lines in phishing emails targeting businesses.

No email security solution is 100% effective. Hackers put a lot of effort into developing attacks that circumvent email protection and end up in users’ inboxes. Cybersecurity company Barracuda conducted an investigation over a three month period and analysed 360,000 phishing emails. They found that, in many cases, the language contained in the subject line of the email mimicked popular terms in the workplace. This makes the recipient think that the email is urgent and requires an immediate response. It is assumed … Read more

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Scammer Steals $10,000 From Grandfather

A grandfather from Australia has been scammed out of $10,000 by a refined fraudster who knew all of his personal details.

The 77 year old retired grandfather, from Australia, was called on his landline by scammers claiming to be from his broadband provider. They told him he was due a payment of $300 in compensation for his service not working properly. The caller then proceeded to pass his call onto a female agent who claimed to work for the network and would process his $300 payment.

The scammer knew all of his personal details and was able to access his … Read more

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Instagram and Snapchat users targeted in extortion scam

Victims are being tricked into revealing Two Factor Authentication (2FA) codes and extorted for money with the threat of having their personal photos shared publicly if they don’t pay up.

Action Fraud has received multiple reports about Snapchat and Instagram accounts being endangered as a result of users being tricked into handing over 2FA codes to fraudsters. The victims are then extorted for money with the threat of having their personal photos shared publicly.

Action Fraud are telling users to not respond to messages that ask for your login details or two-factor authentication (2FA) codes. These can be used to … Read more

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Warning Over Selling Your Old Computer

Action Fraud are warning people to be careful when looking to make some extra cash selling their old computers.

According to new research from a leading international data security company, found that 42% of used hard drives sold through Ebay still contained sensitive data, which could be compromising. The research found that 15% contained personally identifiable information, even when sellers had stated they had properly wiped the hard drives of all personal and sensitive data.

The study analysed 159 computer drives purchased in the UK, UK, Germany and Finland. The findings highlighted a major concern that whilst sellers recognise … Read more

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Every Police Force Will Now Have A Dedicated Cyber Crime Unit

Thanks to a multi-million pound investment from the government, every Police force in England and Wales will now have a committed Cyber Crime Unit.

The announcement was made by Chief Constable Peter Goodman of the National Police Chiefs Council lead for cyber-crime. The news came at an event hosted by the new West Midlands Cyber Crime Unit which was established in November last year. Chief Constable Goodman heard from members of the team about the work they are doing within the force, how they link with the regional network and what it means to local victim’s and businesses.

Chief … Read more

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Off Duty Officer Stops Elderly Neighbour From Being Scammed

An eagle-eyed off duty officer stepped in to stop his elderly neighbour becoming the victim of a fraud after she bought hundreds of pounds worth of gift cards.

The woman, in her 80’s, bought the cards after receiving a call from someone asserting to be from HMRC. The caller told her that there was a warrant out for her arrest due to unpaid tax dating back to the 1950’s. In order to “settle the debt” she would need to buy £500 worth of gift cards, which can be redeemed by anyone if they have the code on the card.

Believing … Read more

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Fraudster Poses As Hollywood Actor To Con Victims

A British woman has been conned out of hundreds of thousands of pounds by a fraudster who pretended to be actor Jason Statham.

The woman, who spoke to BBBC Radio Manchester, asked not to be named and explained how she had been targeted by the heartless fraudster at one of the most vulnerable times in her life. She told the station how she had just lost her mother and fiancé when she was contacted by the Fraudster pretending to be the famous actor.

It all started when she was browsing through a Facebook page which is dedicated to the movie … Read more

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Fake holiday scammers stole £600 rent money

A young woman from Cambridge had £600 stolen from her bank account after she entered her details on a fake holiday booking site. Alex Roberts found a cheap packaged deal for a trip to the Maldives for just £700, which included flights. The deal seemed like an opportunity she could not miss and began to fill in her personal information, but her suspicion was aroused as the deal seemed too good to be true. Instead of confirming the payment, Alex closed the browser, however, days later noticed £600 had been taken from her bank account.

Alex spoke to the Sun … Read more

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Mum of two scammed out of Savings

A mum of two from Birmingham was left in debt after scammers raided her bank account over a five day long sophisticated scam.

The Mirror reports how Hannah Greaves was tricked by cruel fraudsters who convinced her they were working on behalf of her banks fraud department. The fraudsters built up a credible story over the course of five days and were able to gain her trust, before stealing over £9,000.

Hannah said: “I can’t believe how believable the fraudsters were. They seemed to know my bank, NatWest’s website inside out, the layout of the screens and the language the … Read more

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The WhatsApp Scam

The ‘WhatsApp Gold’ scam, which has being doing the rounds since 2016, has surfaced again in the form of a new message.

Action Fraud is warning consumers of another WhatsApp scam being circulated by fraudsters again. In the message, it is claimed that there is a video which will be launched called ‘Martinelli’. The video itself is a Prank and does not seem to exist. The message also warns of links being sent out to sign up for ‘WhatsApp Gold’.

Previous versions of ‘WhatsApp Gold’ messages have included promises of free flights and ‘exclusive’ access to Improved features such as … Read more

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