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CyberScams Awareness Campaign 2018

An Garda Síochána partnering with Banking & Payments Federation Ireland and in co-operation with the Department of Justice and Equality is supporting Europol and the European Banking Federation in the Pan-European #CyberScams Awareness Campaign from 17th to 23rd October 2018 as part of European Cyber Security Month. 

The tactics used by cybercriminals to scam victims are becoming increasingly innovative and harder to detect.  The Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2018, published by Europol, highlights that criminals are more often using techniques, known as social engineering, to lure unsuspecting users into sending them their confidential data, allowing them to obtain your personal data, hijack your accounts, steal your identity, initiate illegitimate payments or convince you to proceed with any other activity against your self interest such as transferring money or sharing personal data.  

The most effective defence against social engineering is the education of potential victims, who can be anyone of us who uses the Internet.  Raising awareness among the general public, on how to identify the various deception techniques used, will help keep both themselves and their finances safe online. 

Over the next week the #Cyberscams Awareness Campaign will provide information on the seven (7) most common online financial scams and how to avoid them. These have been identified as: 

  • CEO fraud: scammers pretend to be your Chief Executive Officer or a senior representative in the organisation and trick you into paying a fake invoice or making an unauthorised transfer out of the business account.
  • Invoice fraud: they pretend to be one of your clients/suppliers and trick you into paying future invoices into a different bank account.
  • Phishing/Smishing/Vishing: they call you, send you a text message or an email to trick you into sharing your personal, financial or security information.
  • Spoofed bank website fraud: they use bank phishing emails with a link to the spoofed website. The site will look like its legitimate counterpart, with small differences. Once you click on the link, various methods are used to collect your financial and personal information.
  • Romance scam: they pretend to be interested in a romantic relationship. It commonly takes place on online dating websites, but scammers often use social media or email to make contact.
  • Personal data theft: they harvest your personal information via social media channels.
  • Investment and online shopping scams: they make you think you are on a smart investment or present you with a great fake online offer.

Detective Superintendent Michael Gubbins of the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau offers the following advice: ‘I recognise that the Internet provides a positive contribution to everyday life.  Our message is to ask people to be cautious when they receive unexpected or unsolicited communication on the Internet.  Take account of the content and context of the contact before clicking on links or opening attachments.’

Keith Gross, Head of Financial Crime & Security, Banking & Payments Federation Ireland says ‘this is a prime example of public - private partnership launched as part of cyber security month (ECSM). This is a collaboration between law enforcement and the banking sector on a Pan-European basis who together have identified the main cyber scams that are currently trending across Europe and impacting citizens on a daily basis. Such trends include social engineering attacks like sophisticated phishing (i.e. via email), smishing (i.e. via SMS/Text) and vishing (i.e. via voice call) which are often combined and blended.’ 

The aim of the #CyberScams campaign is to highlight some simple steps to enable internet users to stay safe and to protect their personal, financial and professional data: 

  • Be very careful about how much personal information you share on social network sites.
    Check your online accounts regularly.
  • Phishing (i.e. via email), smishing (i.e. via sms) and vishing (i.e. via voice call) are the most common social engineering attacks targeting bank customers.
  • Check your bank account regularly and report any suspicious activity to your bank.
    Perform online payments only on secure websites (check the URL bar for the padlock and https) and using secure connections (choose a mobile network instead of public Wi-Fi).
  • Your bank will never ask you for sensitive information, such as your online account credentials.
    If an offer sounds too good to be true, it’s almost always a scam.
  • Keep your personal information safe & secure.
  • If you think that you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank immediately. Always report any suspected fraud attempt to the police, even if you did not fall victim to the scam.
  • Take control of your digital life, don’t be a victim of cyber scams!

Further information available on www.europol.europa.eu/cyberscams

Read more on how to stay protected at The Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) page on www.garda.ie  and follow the #CyberScams  campaign.

Twitter: @gardainfo

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/angardasiochana

www.bpfi.ie and www.fraudsmart.ie 

https://www.facebook.com/FraudSMART/      

https://www.twitter.com/FraudSMART/ 

@FraudSMART is for both twitter and Facebook 

Also at : www.europol.europa.eu/content/cyberscams , and: 

Europol and EC3 Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and LinkedIn

EBF Twitter, Facebook  and Linkedin

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