Tech

PASSWORDS, EMAIL & TELEPHONE SCAMS

James Flynn, Milborne Port Computers

Are you paying attention? There are a lot of baddies out there after your hard-earned money and it’s up to you to be safe and secure – nobody’s going to do it for you! However, don’t worry too much because they have no idea who you really are; you’re just a number or an email address and all they’re interested in doing is making as much money as possible from you.

Everything needs a password nowadays; your phone, your card PIN, your email and every online service you use. You need to make this as secure as possible by mixing up letters, numbers and symbols, and not using common words or names. Try not to make it guessable – try and be different! Secondly, try and make your email password different from all the others because once a baddie has hacked your email address, they can use that to reset other passwords to gain access to your other accounts. However, as we have said many times before, make sure you remember what it is! Although we don’t advocate keeping your passwords in one place, please make sure they are written somewhere in case you ever need them in the future, even if it’s cryptically!

Despite what you hear in the press, your bank account is very secure because banks do not use email to issue your security details – it’s all done by post, and if you need to reset your login details then it’s a lengthy process by post. Your bank will NEVER email you or ring you about your passwords.

Now listen carefully…NEVER TELL ANYBODY YOUR PASSWORD!

If your phone rings and someone at the other end says, ‘I’m from BT’ (or Windows or Microsoft or NatWest or Lloyds Bank etc), then they’re not. I don’t care how convincing they sound or how terrible your fate will be if you don’t do as they say. NO! NO! NO! It’s all fraud. If you haven’t initiated the contact in the first place, then that call isn’t genuine. Don’t tell them anything, don’t give them access to your computer and don’t ring them back!

Emails next. If you receive an email from any institution asking you to ‘confirm your details’ or telling you that your ‘account has been blocked’, or any other flim-flam for that matter, just delete it! It isn’t genuine and it certainly hasn’t come from any reputable source. I don’t care how pretty it looks or how dire the consequences. NO! NO! NO! It’s all fraud. Your bank or other such company will never contact you in this way.

And finally, if you’re still worried or uncertain then call another family member or somebody else you trust and ask advice. Don’t have sleepless nights because these people have no idea who you are or where you live, and any threats they make are hollow. Your two best friends are ‘hang-up’ and ‘delete’!

As ever if you need any help or support then you know where to come.