Dear Watch Member,
Social engineering is a technique criminals use to get you to trust them, and then convince you to give away your money or confidential information.
3 ways they may do this:
• Phishing, Vishing and Smishing – these are fake emails, phone calls or text messages supposedly from a friend or family member or even a trusted organisation. They’re used to get you to give scammers your personal or financial information.
• Remote access – this is when a criminal tricks you into letting them take control of your device. They do this by getting you to click on a link or download an app which gives them access to everything on it.
• Pressure – this happens when a scammer puts pressure on you to pay for something quickly, for example, a limited time offer. They’re trying to panic you into making a payment without thinking it through.
What to look out for:
• Never assume someone contacting you is genuine – caller ID and email addresses can be spoofed to appear genuine.
• Is an offer or sale too good to be true?
• Never download an app, click on links or open attachments without taking time to think about if it’s genuine.
• An email, call or text message to say your device has a virus or your antivirus software is out of date.
• Be very wary of requests to pay by bank transfer. Always use the secure payment method recommended by reputable online retailers.
For more information about social engineering, please read page 4 of the attached booklet, which is full of information and advice that can help prevent you from becoming a scam victim.
Documents accompanying this message are linked below. Click to download and open a file which use the popular PDF format. If you experience problems downloading or viewing a file please visit this help page.
The_Little_Book_of_Big_Scams_-_Fifth_Edition
If you need to reply regarding this message, tap on this email address: [email protected]
Regards,
Lee O’Brien
Pinner Safer Neighbourhood Team
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 020 8721 2775