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Staying Safe Online with Merlin
The Internet is an important part of life in today’s society. Social media, work, shopping and banking are now common occurrences online so it’s important to be careful with your personal data. Scams have become more effective with their increased sophistication, so people need to be even more vigilant. Read our non-technical and jargon free guide to understand how you can keep yourself, your family and your data safe online.
Phishing Scams
So what exactly are they?
Phishing scams can come in different forms,
they can be false websites, e-mails, phone calls or text messages which pretend to be something they’re not.
The goal of phishing scams is to trick the targeted person in to giving information, which will give criminals access to your data. Some scams will
try to put you under pressure to do something within a time frame.
A few examples of such scams include a website pretending to be your bank, or an e-mail that’s seemingly coming from a trusted source, asking you to provide login details, passwords or personal information.
The Solution
A crucial part of staying safe online is being vigilant and knowing how to spot phishing scams.
Some examples of phishing scams:-
Any e-mail that refers to you as your
e-mail address
(for example “Dear yourname@email.com”)
Be wary of anyone that asks you to make a payment or log in to your account straight away.
Look for strange spellings, often interchanging numbers and letters Th3 B4nk
Check the e-mail or web address. If it’s from a free provider, like Gmail or Yahoo, it could be a scam. You can call your bank, or the organisation you’re meant to be dealing with, to confirm whether or not it’s them.
If you suspect any website, e-mail, text message, or phone call is a phishing scam, it’s vital that you report it to Action Fraud. Reporting suspected fraud can help keep you and other more vulnerable internet users safe.
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