Did you know that this week was scam awareness week?
This years theme was "let's talk scams" with a focus on people talking about scams to create awareness making it harder for cyber criminals to steal personal information or money. Scam Awareness Week is not designed to scare consumers but to encourage open conversations about scams to help prevent them in the future.
According to the the Scamwatch, for the period 01/01/2021 to 17/10/2021 -
people over the age of 65 are the most vulnerable and experience the highest losses
for the period 01/01/2021 to 17/10/2021 there have been 242,000 reports to Scamwatch (a 50% increase compared to the same period last year)
losses have increased by 87% to $236 million
the highest losses have been investment scams, dating and romance scams, false billing scams and remote access scams
So what practical steps can you take to keep your personal and financial information safe?
ask questions. Why, how and who. Don't give out personal information unless you are comfortable with how it will be used and who is using it
avoid unsecured wi-fi networks for transactions and ensure that sites you access are secure by looking for the padlock symbol and https at the beginning of the address
contact your financial institution if you notice unusual or suspicious activity on your bank statement
use strong and unique passwords using combinations of symbols, numbers and letters
be careful with who you share information with. Remember those questions on social media pages like, "what was the name of the first street you lived in?", "what is your favourite colour?" or "where did you first go to school?" These are all personal questions which can be gathered to potentially make you a scam target
If you suspect that you have been the target of a scam you can report a scam and contact IDCARE who can work with you to develop a response and provide you with support.
Image Source: Mikhail Nilov
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