There's a very strong likelihood that every person reading this article will have received an email, text or phone call which has been a scam of some sort.
Hopefully you’ll have spotted it and deleted everything without opening attachments or responding. But be honest; have you ever been taken-in and opened something because it looked incredibly convincing and realistic?
“It is easy to be conned by scammers because they tend to target something which is very current and therefore relevant to a lot of people,” said Jon Hudson who is the Regional Cyber Protect Officer at the North East Region Special Operations Unit. “This is especially so in the current climate where Coronavirus has forced us to change the way we work and how we live our lives. More people are working from home and spending several hours per day on their computers. They’re accessing websites, using passwords and providing information which could be personal or sensitive. There’s been a dramatic increase in home shopping and parcel deliveries. Covid-19 is something which is still very much in our minds so we find scammers tempting people to buy protective clothing like masks and gloves. We’ve seen an increase in criminals selling vaccines, offering ways to jump the queue, providing hand gel and anti-bacteria sprays and more recently track and trace and census scams. Needless to say, the scammers don’t have any masks, gloves, gels, vaccines etc, but it is easy to see how some people might be tempted.” The North East Region Special Operations Unit was set up over a decade ago but the cyber protection side of the organisation didn’t appear in its current form until 2017. Jon and his three colleagues founded the North East unit in 2014. “We were originally solely a crime investigation team but we’re now working on crime prevention in collaboration with our force protect officers,” added Jon.
“As a Protect Network, we help companies avoid being targeted and, if they are attacked, what action they need to take and how they should go about it. Phishing and ransomware are still the biggest threats, but there is no ‘offthe-shelf’ solution because scammers continually adapt to what is currently happening.
A lot of criminals are successful because we ignore doing the basics, our job is to educate people and organisations on what they need to do. We pass on knowledge to allow them to take precautions, how to raise their security levels and how to avoid being attacked. We give them the tools which allows them to spot when something isn’t right. We need to make firms realise they are vulnerable…why they are vulnerable and how they can defend themselves. Thankfully, once we engage with a company they are always very receptive.”
Jon and his team provide a menu of products and services…all free of charge. They provide staff training and explain how to spot phishing emails. They emphasise the dangers of using USB sticks and the importance of protecting security passwords – the basics that criminals look to exploit. They’ll also show you what to do if you are a victim of a cyber attack and a whole host of other things. They even use the services of one of the region’s top cyber security companies to offer a vulnerability assessment. “It’s a bit like a burglar walking the street trying doors. We find the open doors and we explain how the company or individual can close them.” Jon has even devised a very simple way of reminding ourselves to take precautions. Think CAUSE… Current events – Criminals often exploit news stories, big events or specific times of year like end of year tax reporting to make their scam seem more relevant. Authority – is the sender claiming to be someone official like your bank, doctor, solicitor or a government department? Criminals pretend to be important people or organisations to trick you into doing what they want. Urgency – are you told you have a limited time to respond like in 24 hours or immediately? Criminals often threaten fines or other negative consequences. Scarcity – is the message offering something in short supply like concert tickets, money or a cure for medical conditions?
Fear of missing out on a good deal or opportunity can make you respond quickly.
Emotion – does the message make you panicked, fearful, hopeful or curious? Criminals often use threatening language, make false claims of support, or tease you into wanting to find out more. Wise words indeed.
So think CAUSE. If you’d like to take advantage of any of the free services offered by Jon and his cyber protection team, you can contact him by email at nerccuprotect@durham.pnn.police.uk. For more information,
