Cyber Crime Team’s Guide to Preventing People from becoming Victim to Scams

Since the beginning of COVID-19 the UK has seen an increase in scams linked to the virus which has cost people millions of pounds.

In Cleveland, the Cyber Crime Team receives around 170 reports of fraud each month which range from romance, investment and online shopping fraud.

Computers being hacked and Ransomware attacks are also common reports made to the Force and with many people working from home it means more people are vulnerable to becoming victim to these crimes.

Officers from the Cyber Crime team would like to remind people to use strong, individual passwords on all social, personal and work accounts on their devices to make it harder for criminals to gain access to them.

The National Cyber Security Centre has published guidance on what makes a good password as well as how to safely access and manage your passwords across multiple devices using password managers.

Please visit https://bit.ly/3fUK2CM

Cleveland Police has also released a ‘Little Book’ series, inspired by the Met Police, which is a series of information books to help people understand the different types of scams and provide them with the right tools to protect computer devices and phones.

To download a copy please see links below

Little booklet of phone scams: https://bit.ly/2NrWkpO

Little Book of Cyber Scams & the Little Leaflet of Cyber Advice: https://bit.ly/31eKNSW 

Little Book of Big Scams: https://bit.ly/2Cu1fnY

If you believe you have been a victim of a scam, please contact Cleveland Police on 101.