We all have emails that get through to us from time to time which we might have some doubts about, and a small proportion of those even look genuine (!). We have all seen the messages that come out from NUIT to all staff when someone has opened an email which contained a virus….. but how do we recognise those rogue emails? And how do we stop ourselves from clicking on something that might turn out to be malicious and result in our identity being used fraudulently?
How do I know if an email is spam, a scam or contains a virus?
In the development of the forthcoming Cyber Security: Safety at Home, Online, in Life free online course, we have, in our little office, become even more acutely aware of the increasing sophistication of our online adversaries. There is a lot of brief and helpful guidance available. Here are a couple of pointers:
- The University has a really good page on Scam emails.
- Get Safe Online is worth bookmarking – especially the section on Spam and Scam email.
Many of these scams are about criminals trying to get more information about you – including personal details like bank card and account details. This can lead to identity fraud.
Have you been or do you know anyone who has been a victim of identity fraud?
CIFAS has been doing a lot of work to raise awareness of identity fraud.
Watch this film about how easy it is to piece together details of people from something as simple as buying a coffee:
What surprised you?
There is an online fraud risk profiler to assess how at risk you are. Have a go at it.
Will you do anything differently as a result?
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has a really good page on Identity Theft with advice on what to do if you have been a victim.
I want to learn more!
There will be more advice on managing your online professional profiles in a forthcoming thing, and on how you can manage your campus desktop, email and general electronic housekeeping soon.
In the meantime here are a few online courses which may be of interest:
- Learning Online: Managing Your Identity – a short two week, 2 hours a week course on managing your identity including social media tips.
- Cyber Security: Safety at Home, Online, in Life – Starting 5 September, this three week, 2 hours a week Newcastle University free online course covers three specific areas:
- privacy online
- payment safety
- security at home
- Introduction to Cyber Security – this is an 8 week, 4 hours a week course from the Open University which goes into some detail on how you can keep yourself safe online.