With the festive season fast approaching, we are sure that you are looking forward to having a well-deserved break to recharge your batteries for the year ahead. Unfortunately, not everyone is easing off at this time of year and cyber criminals are still actively trying to find ways to catch people out.
We have recently seen a number of email fraud attempts in the University where fraudsters are pretending to be either staff or students asking for help to buy iTunes gift cards, with the promise to pay the money back. These emails are coming from Gmail addresses, which are set up in the name of staff or students and, if responded to, the criminal will try and convince the recipient to ‘help’ them. If these attempts are successful, the codes for the gift cards are sold on, helping to fund organised crime. As these emails appear to be coming from genuine addresses, it is not possible for the University to block them, so the following tips should help you spot them:
- Be wary of communications that come from somebody’s non university email
- Check with the individual via another channel, such as by phone or their University email address
- Be suspicious of requests to buy gift cards or transfer money received by email
More tips and hints are available on the Information Security website pages or from Get Safe Online
https://www.getsafeonline.org/christmas/
If you get caught out and need to report on-line fraud to Police Scotland, you can do this in person at a police station or by calling 101 and telling the operator that you need to report a cybercrime.
Tips for your Tech
Some of us will be lucky enough to receive new tech over the holidays. Before taking your devices for a spin, it’s worth remembering a few simple tips to help keep them safe and secure:
- Install updates and patch regularly
- Install Anti-Virus
- Enable PINs (Encryption) and screen locks
- Only download new apps from official marketplaces
- Disable services you don’t need or use
We hope you all have a safe, secure and enjoyable holiday season.
Best Wishes,
Information Security Team
