A happy Christmas from all of us at JTM Financial Services.
At this time of year many of us do more online shopping than usual as well as receiving lots of unsolicited mail and emails. Consequently, it can be especially hard to tell the difference between legitimate retailers and scammers.
We hope that you have a memorable and enjoyable festive season, we hope this short guide will help.
Fortunately, there are some simple golden rules you can follow to protect you against financial scammers and fraudsters.
Never share your financial details with strangers. Your bank will never ask for your pin number or account/card details by email or over the telephone.
Change your passwords regularly and ensure that they are strong. Try to include both lower and upper case letters, numbers and symbols. Do not re-use old passwords.
Never ‘wire’ money to a stranger. Use a trusted platform like PayPal to make payments if necessary.
Never click on hyperlinks in emails. Clicking on hyperlinks can often lead to malicious software being installed on your computer or device.
Never give out information which could be used to impersonate you e.g. National Insurance number.
Install anti-virus and anti-spyware software and ensure it is up to date.
Do not download software from untrusted sources.
Avoid online retailers that you have not heard of where possible. Read reviews prior to buying products through strange websites.
Never follow the messages from anti-virus software you encounter whilst on the internet. Only follow the anti-virus instructions from the software you have installed on your computer
Always use a firewall
Ransomware
Ransomware is a growing cyber threat to both individuals and businesses. Ransomware is a type of malware that locks your computer or mobile device and encrypts your files. When this happens the only way you can get access to your files is to pay a ransom. If you’re a victim of ransomware – do not pay. There is no guarantee you will get your files back.