Social Media & Email
It’s hard to imagine our lives without social media and unfortunately, without the fraud that comes along with it. Under the remit of Cumbria Police, in the past 12 months the most reported ‘Cyber Crimes’ by individuals were social media and email hacking with 253 reported cases leading to £1.4k in reported losses.*
Each social media platform has its own privacy settings but they are worth negotiating as they allow you greater protection. Here are three things that you should definitely consider:
Social media marketplace scams are also on the rise and proving to be difficult for the platforms to manage. The fraud prevention team at The Cumberland have dealt with numerous cases where a customer has transferred or sent money for a purchase, only to be blocked by the seller on social media without receiving the item. It’s always worth doing your research on the seller, asking friends or trusted group users for references and if possible not sending money in advance.
A topical example is the re-sale of tickets for popular concerts or events. Fake sellers can often be found advertising cheap tickets for sale and once they’ve received the money, it’s easy for them to disappear without ever sending the goods. Once again it’s better to be especially careful and do your research before handing over your details.
Email scams offer the fraudster the opportunity to send their fake email to thousands of people at once. Many phishing emails hope to panicking the recipient into doing what they ask – usually sending money or crypto currencies.
With fraud – this element of speed, needing a quick response, or negative events unfolding if you don’t respond immediately, are all tools used by the fraudster to give their victims less time to think and make an informed decision.
In this case, the email may threaten to release incriminating videos or content to the persons colleagues or family unless they pay up. Some people genuinely believe them and are scared into making payments. If you interact with anyone who then attempts to blackmail you then this should be reported to the police.
