Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting service, warns that more than 33,000 people have reported that their online accounts have been hacked over the past year.
Most of these hacks were the result of phishing and other social engineering tactics. Action Fraud describes one technique that involves using a compromised account to target the victim’s friends.
“The goal is to convince people to reveal authentication codes that are sent to them via text,” Action Fraud says. “Many victims of this type of hacking believe it’s a friend messaging them, however the shared code was associated with their own account and the impersonator can now use it to access their account.
Usually when an account is taken over, fraudsters monetise control of the account via the promotion of various fraudulent schemes, while impersonating the original account owner.”
Action Fraud encourages users to follow security best practices in order to defend themselves against phishing attacks:
- “Use a strong and different password for your email and social media accounts. Your email and social media passwords should be strong and different from all your other passwords. Combining three random words that each mean something to you is a great way to create a password that is easy to remember but hard to crack
- Turn on 2-Step Verification (2SV) for your email and social media accounts. 2-Step Verification (2SV) gives you twice the protection, so even if cyber criminals have your password, they can't access your email or social media account. 2SV works by asking for more information to prove your identity. For example, getting a code sent to your phone when you sign in using a new device or change settings such as your password. You won't be asked for this every time you check your email or social media”
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Action Fraud has the story.
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