Why You Need A ‘Coppers Nose’ To Keep Safe

It was difficult to miss the headlines surrounding the M&S and Co-op cyber attacks. They illustrate why we must be alert to the dangers of the harmful email that caused all the problems. And with nearly a third of charities and voluntary groups being subject to some form of criminal cyber problem, it is important to follow some basic rules. Here they are, they will prevent problems.

• Be suspicious of emails that have content using language that does not seem right, normal or is poorly written. The police often talk about a ‘Coppers Nose’ or instinct, and we have all got to develop one for digital messages. Even if you know the sender, but the content does not look right, check to see whether the email is legitimate.
• Be suspicious of emails that have attachments from sources that you do not recognise.
• Be suspicious of emails that request you to make payments or provide bank details. This type of message should of course, naturally arouse attention, but fraudsters still send them because they do occasionally get a response.
• Be suspicious of emails that you do not automatically recognise in terms of sender or subject, and that request you to click on links to complete forms. Carefully hover the cursor over the link to see where it would take you. If the website address does not look genuine, or does not match the sender’s email address, then it is likely to be an infected site.
• Be suspicious of emails that have a sense of urgency about them.
• Be very suspicious of all emails with ‘zip’ files in them, even from people you know.
• Be suspicious of emails asking you to change your passwords. Ordinarily, modern IT systems will not ask you to change the password for their systems.
• Be suspicious of work emails that request you to start conversations over platforms such as WhatsApp. Often this will lead to fraudulent requests from scammers. Check with the sender via other contact method.
• Be suspicious of, and delete emails where the ‘From’ name and email address do not marry, or where well known domain names are spelt incorrectly. Even if the ‘From’ name and email address do seem likely, if something does not quite add up, such as the language being unusual, or it is a request you are not expecting, then ignore or delete the email.
• Be suspicious of WhatsApp requests that have a sense of urgency about them, or request you to do something that sounds ‘odd’ or out of character. Check with the person sending you the WhatsApp via other contact methods to check whether it is them.

Most of all, just be aware. Do not rush into a decision if you are not sure. Making the wrong one can be costly. It is much better to be safe than sorry. Check with your IT support team or a knowledgeable friend or staff member. And if in any doubt then ignore the request.

Contact

If you’d like any advice around these areas then please contact me at [email protected] or call me on 01473 345321.