Scam Updates: May ’22
iPhone and Android users issued urgent warning over scam apps used by criminals
Both Apple iPhone and Android users across the UK have been issued a warning over apps that could empty their bank accounts.
Installing certain apps onto your phone could leave you out of pocket as experts shared a warning over phone apps used by cyber criminals to target your finances.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warns that personal data and finances are at risk because of fraudulent apps containing malicious software or poorly-developed apps which can be compromised by hackers.
To learn more, click here.
‘Sharing my screen cost me £48,000’ – half of investors would miss signs of screen sharing scam as FCA warns of 86% increase
New research from the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) has found that nearly half (47%) of investors would fail to identify a screen sharing scam, as it reveals an increase of 86% in cases in one year, with 2,014 cases and over £25 million in loses.
In one case, a 59-year-old who was persuaded to download remote desktop software to secure an investment, lost over £48,000 while scammers accessed her banking details, her pension, and applied for loans on her behalf.
Her case is just one of thousands the FCA has seen reported to its Consumer Helpline. Using platforms including Teams, TeamViewer and Zoom, screen sharing scams not only involve consumers sharing their financial data – but scammers have also been able to embed themselves in victims’ digital devices to access online banking and investment details.
For more information, click here.
Beware of fake E.ON refund emails, warns Action Fraud
Action Fraud – the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime – has said scammers are impersonating Eon in an attempt to steal the recipient’s money and financial details.
The UK’s energy crisis has seen household utility bills rocket following the price cap increase this April, scammers are seeing this as an opportunity to fleece unsuspecting residents out of their hard-earned cash.
Action Fraud said today it has received 449 relating to fake emails – known as phishing – purporting to come from E.ON.
The emails state that the recipient is owed an £85 refund due to an ‘overcharge’.
Action Fraud has said the links to the emails lead to a ‘genuine-looking website’ but they are designed to steal personal details.
Phishing is a method used by scammers, using fake emails or web links which look trustworthy and familiar, to gain access to sensitive information such as passwords and bank details or to infect your device with malware.
Phishing emails are a very common type of cyber-attack and because they’re made to look like they’re from an official source, they’re easy to fall victim of. They could be from a business you’re a customer of – your gas and electricity supplier, for example – asking you to manage your account or pay a bill.
If you’ve had a suspicious email from someone claiming to be from E.ON, forward it to phishing@eonenergy.com for their cyber security team to investigate, if you’re a customer or not, and then delete it immediately.
How to block nuisance phone calls
If you’re sick of cold callers interrupting your evenings, then you may be tempted to use a technological solution to limit this unwanted annoyance. There are a number of different options available to you.
Consumer champions Which? have produced a handy guide telling you about these options, how they work and what they can do. To view the Which? guide, click here.
Organisations offered streamlined guidance to help them move to the cloud
UK ORGANISATIONS of all sizes can now benefit from more accessible guidance as increasing numbers switch to cloud services.
The refreshed guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre – a part of GCHQ – will help organisations support the secure migration of their data and online services into the cloud.
Public and private sector organisations are increasingly utilising the benefits of cloud solutions to streamline their operations, and the updated Cloud Security Guidance has been made more accessible to meet the increasingly diverse range of organisations that are moving their operations online.
To read more on this, click here.
New email security tool launched to help organisations check their defences
A free email security check service has been launched to help organisations identify security vulnerabilities.
The new Email Security Check service, from the National Cyber Security Centre – a part of GCHQ – helps organisations identify vulnerabilities affecting their email domain so they can take action to fix them.
Email Security Check requires no sign-up or personal details to use and is aimed at helping technical teams at organisations quickly identify issues so they can bolster their defences using NCSC guidance on email security and anti-spoofing.
Figures show the adoption of recommended controls across different sectors varies significantly at present, with some UK sectors having coverage as low as just 7%.
Email Security Check is a developing service and new features will be added in the near future to help organisations enhance their defences.
While anyone can access the service to check the security of email domains, the tool cannot check if an individual email or email domain is malicious. If individuals receive a suspicious email, they should report it to the NCSC by forwarding to report@phishing.gov.uk.
NCSC joins industry to offer UK public unprecedented protection from scams
Citizens across the UK are set to benefit from a landmark partnership between government and industry which will see access to scam websites instantly blocked.
A new data sharing capability developed by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – a part of GCHQ – in collaboration with industry partners will present Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with real-time threat data that enables them to instantly block access to known fraudulent sites.
This new capability builds on the success of NCSC’s takedown service, which has removed over 2.7 million scams in the past year. To read more, click here.