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Hacking Social Media Accounts

It’s a rare week when we don’t see yet another press report about a scam in which fraudsters persuade victims to hand over access to their bank accounts or to invest their hard-earned savings in a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. Being vigilant is the name of the game in order to thwart these scammers. in particular remember that:

· Your bank or financial institution will never phone you and ask you to move money.

· Never hand over PIN codes or control of your computer.

· If it seems too good to be true it probably is.

· No reputable financial institution will phone you out of the blue unless you have an existing relationship with them.

More handy hints can be found on the Action Fraud website (https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/) or the Government’s Stop Think Fraud site (https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk/)

Now it seems as though there is another type of fraud we should watch out for which starts out with hacked email or social media accounts. This can lead to fraudsters impersonating friends or family in a bid to get the victim either to send money or to share passcodes. More than 22,500 people reported losing money in this way in 2023 with reported losses exceeding £1.3 million. In order to protect against this type of fraud, Action Fraud recommend that people consider turning on 2-step verification and using a strong and different password for email or social media accounts.