Risks

Oversharing information affects far more of us than we might think. Whether you’ve shared a seemingly innocent photo of your friends or family – or unwittingly given away details of your banking or passport details – you...

Pet scams take place when you see a pet advertised online, are asked to pay a deposit or full price of the pet, only to find that the pet you have purchased does not exist, and you have been defrauded....

Restrictions introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a massive increase in online purchases and in turn, home deliveries, a trend which is here to stay owing to the convenience and choice it brings....

Investment scams involve criminals contacting people randomly to persuade them to put their money into investment schemes or products that are either non-existent, or do exist but are worthless. Traditionally, sales pitches...

TV Licensing is one of the organisations that scammers frequently try to impersonate. Fraudulent TV Licensing communications are increasingly sent via online means....

The internet has transformed our ability to obtain information, communicate with others, express our views, share our experiences and engage in conversations about any topic of our choice. Technology has made it possible...

A pyramid scheme is a type of scam that promises the victim a fast and substantial return on an investment of money which is paid to the person ‘above’ them in the pyramid. The victim is also required to recruit a number of...

The internet is an invaluable tool for finding useful, authoritative information on anything from news and current affairs to DIY, health to history, celebrities to Coronavirus. However, it is also littered with misleading...

There has been a sharp increase in the incidence of emails threatening to expose the recipient to everybody in their contacts list, for viewing pornographic online content unless a fee is paid. The emails claim that the sender...

What is online abuse, how are social media platforms abused, and what do you do if you become a victim of it? Read on to find out more. Social media has made it very easy for us to communicate quickly and easily with family,...

Whilst the internet enables us to communicate quickly, easily and with a wide group of people at the same time, it also makes it easier to spread hateful opinions and material, seemingly with relative anonymity and little...

Property fraud occurs when fraudsters sell or mortgage your property without your consent. Property is usually the most valuable asset you own and can be sold and mortgaged to raise money. It is therefore an attractive...

Motor insurance fraud, also known as ‘ghost broking’, occurs when organised crime groups or individuals pose as genuine insurance brokers in order to commit fraud. They deceive you into buying cheap motor vehicle insurance...

Video gaming for your children can be enjoyable and safe, as long as games are age-appropriate, regulated and supervised by you, and playing times limited. However, there has been a massive surge in illegal websites enticing...

Victims of investment scams are increasingly vulnerable to other investment scams, follow-up scams and recovery room fraud. The perpetrators of these scams are in possession of your details and even when they have been stopped...

Radicalisation by extremist groups or individuals can be perpetrated via a number of means: face-to-face by peers, in organised groups in the community and, increasingly, online. Their targets are individuals or groups of people...

Revenge porn, sometimes known as 'intimate image abuse', is the practice of uploading online explicit images – specifically photos and videos – of ex-partners (or even current partners) without their consent. The images are...

Pensions are important and often very significant assets that people rely on so that they may live comfortably in later life. However, like with any valuable asset they can be the target for illegitimate activities, scams or...

Fraudulent phishing emails claiming to be issued by HMRC and demanding payment or notifying you of a refund, have been in existence for some years. They are still as, if not more, popular with scammers....

When talking about online safety and security, ‘social engineering’ means the act of manipulating or tricking people into certain actions including divulging personal or financial information … a kind of confidence trick....

Webcam blackmail usually involves people being lured into taking off some or all of their clothes in front of their webcam, only to be told that you have been recorded and that the video will be posted online and/or shown to the...

Telephone banking fraud is a scam which is becoming increasingly commonplace. The fraudsters do not actually scam their victims online, but use the telephone to do so. Here’s how it works:...

Copycat websites are those which offer services from government departments or local government, but are not the official site and charge an often substantial premium for those services, often with no tangible benefit to the...

Payday loans let you borrow relatively small amounts of money for a short period – from a few days up to a month, until you get paid the following month. Available from internet sites and high street shops, payday loans can be...

Stalking and harassment have always existed, but since the growth of the internet, it has become easier for those who carry it out to do so either as an extension of their existing activities, or purely online. This persistent...

As criminals seek more sophisticated ways of concealing the proceeds of their illegal activity, the practice of money muling is becoming increasingly commonplace. A money mule is a person who transfers stolen money between...

Advance fee fraud is when fraudsters target victims to make advance or upfront payments for goods, services and/or financial gains that do not materialise....

Identity theft is a method used to carry out criminal activity, involving unauthorised use of your name and personal details to either steal from you, or commit a crime in your name. Identity theft can be carried out either...