Cybercrime, Fraud and Scams

By Samantha Hancock – Cyber Protect officer

Would you be surprised to learn that Derbyshire Police have a dedicated Cybercrime Unit? And in fact a dedicated Cyber Protect Officer, whose role it is to raise awareness of Cybercrime, Fraud and Scams?

My name is Samantha Hancock and I am your Cyber Protect Officer. It’s my role to raise awareness of the crimes happening online and how you can best protect your families, your personal information, your money and your online accounts.

First and foremost, whatever devices you use to access the internet, email and apps; always ensure they are running the most up to date software.  When you get a notification saying there is an update, please do install it ASAP. If it’s an option, set them to auto update at a convenient time, ie overnight when unlikely to be used – you will need to have the device on for this to work though.

Secondly, make sure you have antivirus installed and running on desktop and laptops – you don’t necessarily have to pay – Windows has a default product installed called Defender. Mobile devices and tablets tend to have their own protection built in.

Next up, make sure that you have a backup (copy) of any important files, and of course all those precious digital photos we have these days.  You can do this by setting up a cloud account that automatically updates from your devices to your account. Personally, I also have a separate hard disk too, just in case!

There are a number of reasons we should keep backups – devices can develop faults, be lost or stolen – and files can become corrupt; and not forgetting the ever present risk of malware and viruses.

Another important rule to stick to, is to never click on links (or buttons) in emails or text messages to log in to accounts or “resolve issues”. Phishing emails and texts are a constant threat to our account security. If you receive an email relating to an online account, be it a security issue, payment problem etc, log in the way you normally would, ie via a browser or an app – just never via a link or button.

If you do receive suspicious emails or texts, these can be quickly and simply reported by forwarding to report@phishing.gov.uk or texts forwarded to 7726, free of charge.

Sadly, it’s very easy for criminals to send emails, texts and in fact alter the Caller ID on your phone display to make their scams look all the more convincing.  NEVER disclose personal details via text, email or to an incoming call. We advise that you tell the caller you will call them back shortly, looking up a number yourself – this way you can ensure you are speaking to that organisation – but remember to always leave it more than 10 seconds between hanging up and dialling out again to ensure the call has terminated.

If you are part of a watch scheme, community group, club etc and are interested in us running a webinar or group talk on Cyber, Fraud and Scams, please do drop us an email at cyber@derbyshire.police.uk

To learn more about protecting yourself online, fraud and scams, and to be kept warned and informed, why not give us a follow on Facebook – Derbyshire Police Online Safety.