Beware Phishing or Scam Emails – how to spot them and what to do

If you receive an email from someone you know asking for a favour, it might be a scam.

Phishing is when someone gains access to your account and emails your contacts pretending to be you. There are lots of phishing scams out there, but recently we’ve received several using the ‘do me a favour’ scam. Hackers will email your contacts to do them a favour. If your contacts reply, the scammers will ask them to send money or purchase gift cards on their behalf.

What to do if you receive a phishing email

• Don’t reply
• Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk
• Contact the person via phone, text or an alternative email address to let them know they’ve been hacked
• Tell them to change their password immediately
• Never send money or purchase gift cards on someone’s behalf
• If you have an IT department, notify them too

What to do if your account is sending phishing emails

• Change your email password immediately so hackers on longer have access to your account
• If you’ve reused the password for other accounts or logins, change them too
• Check your computer security or virus protection is up to date

How to protect yourself

• Change your account passwords regularly
• Never use the same password for more than one account
• Use passwords that are hard to predict and include numbers, capital letters and special characters
• Enable or set up Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security
• Ensure your computer software and virus protection is up to date
• Stay vigilant! Remember, hackers are indiscriminate and anyone can be targeted

More information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing and https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams/spot-scams