Category: Stay Safe Online

Stay Safe Online – Facebook Alert!

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Dane

Stay Safe Online – Facebook Alert!

Which? Warn that there’s no such thing as an NCG list (National Community Grant). If you get a message from a Facebook friend starting with “Hello, how are you doing mate?” their Facebook account may have been hacked.

The fraudster then goes on to say they saw your name on the NCG list that assists government employees, pensioners, the disabled, etc. with cash. No such list or grant exists. The fraudster claims that they have received a grant for thousands of pounds and sends you a link to make an application. If you click on the link, you will be sent to a dodgy website requesting your personal details – and you may find that the link also downloads malware onto your device.

If you receive a Facebook message like the above, ignore it and try to contact your friend using another method to let them know their account has been hacked.

If it’s your account that’s been hacked, visit www.facebook.com/hacked to secure the account. Consider turning on two-factor authentication (2FA) for added protection against any further attempts.

In recent years there has been a massive increase in the number of websites losing the personal data of their users – for the consumers the after-effects of targeted hack or identity theft can be devastating.

2FA is an extra layer of protection to ensure the security of online accounts.

After entering a username and a password, an extra piece of information is required such as:

Something you know: like a PIN (personal identification number)
Something you have: like a credit card
Something you are: like a fingerprint

With 2FA, a potential compromise of just one of these factors won’t unlock the account. So, even if your password is stolen or your phone is lost, the chances of a someone else having your second-factor information is highly unlikely. Learn more about two-factor authentication and download the Authy app for IOS, Android and Chrome at: https://authy.com/

If you have been affected by a scam – help is out there – Victim Support has a free confidential helpline 0808 168 9111 and so does Mind 0300 123 3393.

Sign up for Which? Scam alerts: https://campaigns.which.co.uk/scam-alert-service/ Find details of recent scams here: www.actionfraud.police.uk and on our Facebook page: Rainford-it-stay safe online

Stay Safe Online – Energy scams and bank scams – be scam-aware

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Dane

Stay Safe Online – Energy scams and bank scams – be scam-aware

Energy scams

Which? Warn that they have received reports of phone calls to households, pretending to be from the council and asking for card details to make a £150 energy rebate payment. They also report that scammers impersonate Ofgem through emails, texts and websites asking people to enter their banking details to qualify for fake energy refunds. The latest scam focuses on the Government’s new energy grants – it’s a text that asks you to click a link to sign up for the grant. The Government are not sending text messages as the grant will be applied to your energy account automatically.

This text comes from various phone numbers – you can check phone numbers on the website ‘who called me’ which will tell you if a number has been reported as suspicious. Make sure you don’t click on any links in messages like these. Instead forward the message to 7726 to report the scam and then block the phone number.

Santander scam

Watch out for fake emails saying that your account has been suspended – I knew this was a fake because I don’t have a Santander account – but the email address <jp> was also a clue!

Be scam–aware:

Were you expecting a call from this company? If not hang up, check for the correct number on their website – and ring them back.

Are you being asked for personal details? Don’t give out any personal informal information or bank details unless you are sure you are talking to the real company.

Watch out for premium rate phone numbers beginning with ‘09’ which can cost you up to £3.60 per minute.

Is the offer too good to be true? Then it very probably is a scam.

Are you being pressurised to make a decision now? Legitimate companies will always give you time to discuss the proposition with other people and think it over.

Are there spelling and grammatical errors in the message or email? Professional companies write professional emails that are checked – poor English is a sure sign of a scam.

Beware – fraudsters are getting very good at impersonating big companies – using their logos to make emails look real.

If you have been affected by a scam – help is out there – Victim Support has a free confidential helpline 0808 168 9111 and so does Mind 0300 123 3393.

Rainford-IT are Mac specialists – got a problem – give us a ring – advice is free.

Published in the November edition of the Whitchurch Gossip

Stay Safe Online – Amazon returns ’empty box’ warning, Evri fake emails

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Dane

Stay Safe Online

Amazon warning

We received a report from someone who had ordered an Iphone 13 pro from Amazon, but wasn’t happy with it so returned it and bought an iphone 13 instead (also from Amazon). The Iphone 13 pro (£993) was sent back via Royal Mail and insured for £1000. The phone was securely packaged in the original box with all the accessories, the package was securely taped with fragile tape and the royal Mail receipt shows the weight of the package – it obviously wasn’t an empty box!

Amazon claim that the package contained an empty box and have refused to refund the money. They have also refused to provide proof that the package was tampered with so Royal Mail will not accept a claim on the insurance. Repeated phone calls to Amazon and emails to the returns team and customer service and the complaints team have proved ineffective. The credit card company has been sympathetic but nothing has been resolved yet.

When we looked on online forums we found this is not an isolated case – there is a report from someone who had the same problem except he sent the phone back via Hermes – which was the only option that Amazon gave him – so he had no proof of the weight of the parcel.

We have recommended contacting the Consumer Helpline at Citizens Advice free on 0808 223 1133 and contacting www.which.co.uk – by phone or email on their ‘get in touch’ page https://www.which.co.uk/about-which/get-in-touch-aBnhv8z1Uslr

In the meantime, we recommend buying a new phone from a retail shop – so you can physically take it back if there’s a problem – or if you change your mind.

Talking about deliveries, watch out for this fake Evri email (Evri used to be Hermes) which we have reported to them. The email address is the clue that this email isn’t from Evri!

Find details of recent scams here: www.actionfraud.police.uk and on our Facebook page: Rainford-it-stay safe online

Rainford-IT are part of Strawberry Fields – Nominet Channel partners and Cisco network partners. We register and renew domain names. We manage our own servers, email, IT and website hosting. We can fix most hardware – Macs as well as PCs. It’s a family business and we provide a personal service.

Published in the October edition of the Whitchurch Gossip

Stay Safe Online – Maximise Battery Life, Current scams

Posted on August 17, 2022August 17, 2022 by Dane

Stay safe online – Maximise battery life for your devices by ensuring you use the correct charger and keep devices charged at 60-80% Recent scams – Bank Card Refund Scam, Fake cost of living payments and energy rebates