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Update

Action Fraud Alert

Action Fraud is warning the public that fraudsters are claiming to be landlords to trick people into paying upfront ‘rent’ into Tenancy Deposit Schemes (TDS). This comes as 28 reports were made to Action Fraud between December 2018 and February 2019 alone – amounting to a total loss of £19,990.

Scam E-Mails

A scam e-mail arrived in a resident’s inbox recently, purporting to be from British Gas offering an overpayment refund. It looked very professional so please remain vigilant. 
 
Do not readily click on links in emails from unknown sources. Instead, roll your mouse pointer over the link to reveal its true destination, displayed in the bottom left corner of your screen. Beware if this is different from what is displayed in the text of the link from the email.

How to spot a scam e-mail - https://www.britishgas.co.uk/business/help-and-support/my-online-account/online-security 

Further advice - https://www.getsafeonline.org/protecting-your-computer/spam-and-scam-email/

Beware Of What You Share

New research produced by security software company McAfee shows that 44% of people set their profiles to private. Yet more than a third (36%) of people reported being concerned that images and information taken from their social media could be used against them.

Chief scientist and McAfee fellow Raj Samani commented: “Every day, people leave streams of information about themselves online without considering the risks of their digital footprint. Our research discovered that 60% of people disclose their location in some form when posting online, for example tagging the restaurant they are at on Instagram stories. Even more concerning is that 15% have posted photos of the front of their house on social media. If this information gets into the wrong hands, it can be used to paint a detailed picture of someone and offer direct access into their lives.”

Over-sharing on social networking sites increases the risk of criminals using publically available information to steal your personal details and, in some cases, your identity.

There are a number of steps you can take to protect your information online:

  • Review your social media privacy and location settings to ensure that posts you only want your friends or family to see aren’t viewable publicly.
  • Be mindful of sharing personal information on your public profiles. For example, revealing your full name, date of birth or other personal information could leave you vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.