Staying safe and secure this festive season
The festive season is well underway, and you may now be thinking about last minute gifts and paying a little extra for next-day delivery. As the holidays approach and you become increasingly busy with wrapping up your work and studies, it’s the perfect time of year for cyber criminals to take advantage, putting your personal data and hard-earned cash at serious risk!
To help you stay safe and secure over the holidays, IT Services has put together this handy list. Check it twice and make sure you don’t unwrap any malicious presents hiding in your inbox.
Delivery scams: Beware of phishing
Over half of us buy Christmas presents online and it’s handy to have priority delivery options for that perfect gift.
But not all emails received from couriers are genuine.
If you have had an email or text message asking you to pay to arrange delivery at a time to suit you, or verify personal information such as your bank account number before a delivery slot can be finalised, this is likely to be a phishing attempt.
If you are expecting a parcel, contact the retailer and check delivery information. Many retailers even provide tracking information directly on your “My Account” page.
Don’t be tempted by unknown retailers
When shopping around for the ideal present, you will see a wide range offers and deals that could save you money.
Remember that not all online retailers can be trusted.
If a deal looks too good to be true it probably is. We’ve all heard about someone who bought a doll’s house armchair instead of a full-size one or a photograph of what they wanted, and while these can be amusing anecdotes, falling for these scams can have serious financial consequences.
Only buy from reputable retailers you know are genuine, check reviews, and think before you click. Don’t rush into buying something because a website says it’s in multiple baskets. This is a known sales technique to pressure you into rushing your shopping.
Beware of QR codes
When you’re out and about over the festive season, you may see an event or product advertised with a handy QR code.
Did you know that many QR codes are fake, and even when they are genuine, paper codes after often covered with malicious QR stickers?
These fake QR codes can take you to phishing websites which encourage you to input your personal data. They may even automatically install malware on your phone, compromising all the data on it, including contactless payment details and contact information for your friends and family.
Remember if you see something of interest out and about and want to look it up later, it’s much safer to take a photo and search for details in your browser.
Be present with online presents
If you receive an unexpected email from a friend or family member with a gift voucher or eCard, you may think it’s a lovely surprise and click on the link without suspicion.
But could this be phishing or something even more sinister?
All of our inboxes are busy year-round, and the festive season means we’re receiving even more emails with offers, greetings and shopping updates. If you receive an unexpected email, always check the sender’s address and hover over links to see where the address actually points to as this may be different to the address you see on your screen.
Never click a link in an unexpected email unless you can verify the email is genuine.
Seasonal cyber security training
Staff can find even more tips and tricks in the special festive cyber security training under the MyCompliance tile in Microsoft Teams:
Students can access the same great training on Canvas in KnowHow: Study for Success > Digital Skills > Cyber Security.
A wide variety of training has been released throughout this year, so check it out and see if there’s anything you’ve missed.
Enhancing your cyber security knowledge keeps you and the University safe in a world of increasing online threats, so completing your training today is the perfect early New Year’s resolution.
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