Action Fraud -Top Tips

Fraudsters regularly hack into personal online accounts to obtain details which will allow them to defraud you. To prevent fraudsters, it's very important to use strong passwords when setting up and accessing online accounts and online banking.

Passwords should be memorable enough not to have to write them down and long enough to be unique and had to guess, which will ensure they are less vulnerable to being stolen. If it is not possible to remember passwords, a password mananger could be used to store them securely.

Protect Yourself:

• Make sure passwords are memorable so that you don't have to write them down. Make sure they are unique.

• Think abOut how you could change the l3tters in your nOrmal passw0rds to make them more difficult to gue55

• Use long, non-ditionary words and use different ones for each of your personal accounts and online banking. Make sure you change them regularly.

• Make sure passwords are not stored on devices that have shared access by other people, for example in internet cafes and when using public Wi-Fi.

Ed:"There is a scam doing the rounds if you are a BT customer. You will receive an email saying that BT cannot access your monthly payment and that you need to supply your account details to activate the payment. DON'T ANSWER the email. Just forward it to phishing@bt.com and BT will deal with the offender."