Tag: scam

Stay Safe Online – The Most Common Scams

Posted on September 20, 2023September 20, 2023 by Dane

Stay Safe Online – The Most Common Scams

THE MOST COMMON SCAMS

Phishing Scams are when scammers try to obtain personal data by getting you to click on links in emails, texts or Facebook ads which take you to dodgy look-alike websites. Current scams to watch out for include McAfee, BT, Netflix and diet pills.

Investment Scams involve fraudsters offering investment opportunities – using false figures and fake endorsements from celebrities. If it sounds too good to be true – it’s probably a scam – before thinking of investing your hard-earned cash – check with the FCA’s register.

Romance Scams typically begin on dating sites or apps with scammers establishing a relationship – then asking for money for made-up causes with a variety of reasons why they have no-one else to turn to. You can do a reverse image search to check a profile pic against known scammers – and cease contact immediately if someone asks you for money.

Shopping Scams get you to pay for items that you never receive – from dodgy websites, auction sites or via social media – event tickets being a prime example. Scammers often ask for payment via bank transfer or bitcoin – if you can’t pay by Paypal – be suspicious.

Vishing Scams – combine ‘voice’ and ‘phishing’ and involve scammers impersonating a company – like your bank – to obtain personal details. Callers will say your account has been compromised. Put the phone down and contact your bank directly – from the number on their website.

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 and on this blog on our website.

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.

Worried about something – ring us – advice is free – 07552 863996

Published in Oswestry Life magazine

#staysafeonline @actionfrauduk @WhichUK #WeFixMacs @OswestryLife

Stay Safe Online – EE scam phone calls – Fake WhatsApp messages – Who Called Me?

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Dane

Stay Safe Online

If your computer goes wrong, don’t automatically throw it away – unless it’s very old – we can probably fix it. We had a computer arrive the other day that had overheated – the customer said it was smoking! He did the right thing and quickly turned it off at the main socket, then unplugged it. He was lucky and, not only did we manage to retrieve all his data, we were able to replace the power supply – and it’s good for another few years; he can work on a computer he is familiar with and all his files are back where they were. So, before you give up on your computer – give us a call.

CURRENT SCAMS

EE Scam phone calls

We had a phone call the other day: “Hi, this is EE, you’re eligible for a free upgrade on your phone.” They then asked for personal information that the real EE would have already had – like full name, birth date and other phone numbers I had. I gave a false name and date of birth – so if EE ring again and ask for Rob Jones – I know it’s a scam! But the best thing to do is say: “Great, I’ll call you back, what’s your name?” which they are unlikely to agree to. If you want to check – or report the call – you can just type ‘EE Phone Number’ into the Google search bar and you will get the real EE.

Scam phone calls

If you get a phone call and don’t recognise the number, don’t answer it – if it’s someone you know they will most likely leave a message and you can call them back – if you really want to know who called you – you can look it up on who-called.co.uk

Which? Warn of scam WhatsApp messages with job offers – if you reply to a message the scammer sends more information about the job then asks you to pay for things like security checks or work equipment – termed ‘advance fee fraud’. Scammers also use fake job ads for money laundering purposes or to obtain your bank details or identity documents such as passport. Which? Have warned Fastnet that scammers are using their name to offer fake job opportunities.

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 part of Strawberry Fields – Nominet Channel partners and Cisco network partners.

Published in the February edition of the Whitchurch Gossip

#staysafeonline @actionfrauduk @WhichUK #WeFixMacs

Stay Safe Online – Protect Your Phone, Loan Fee Fraud, Email scams

Posted on January 3, 2023January 3, 2023 by Dane

Stay Safe Online

New free app protects your phone from scam calls

Call Protect is a free spam and robo call blocker with automatic Caller ID tool that safeguards you against known telemarketers, robo-callers, scammers, surveys, spammers, and other unwanted callers. With Call Protect, you can have peace of mind while it silently works for you to reduce the number of unsolicited phone calls you receive.

Call Protect maintains the latest list of active spam and robo callers which is monitored and updated in real-time. Each time you activate Call Protect this list is updated onto your device. High risk numbers identified as harmful are automatically blocked; whilst other, potentially harmful numbers, are added onto your phone with their caller ID information containing a warning message. This alerts you when you receive a phone call from suspicious callers. Call Protect is free but also offers additional features for a small monthly fee.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/call-protect-robo-blocker/id1357820531

Which? Warn of loan fee fraud

Which? report that cases of loan fee fraud are up by a fifth compared to last year. It’s a scam where a fraudster asks you for an upfront fee, usually between £25 and £450, in order to take out a non-existent loan. They usually target people who have been searching for loans online.

If you are looking for a loan – always check the legitimacy of the lender by using the FCA’s website to ensure they are registered www.fca.org.uk

Email scam

If you receive an email like this, just ignore it. You don’t have suspended emails and if you click on the attachment it is likely to get you to reveal your password or instal a virus – or both.

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.

Find details of recent scams here: www.actionfraud.police.uk

Published in the January edition of the Whitchurch Gossip

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.