Nottinghamshire Police backs campaign to raise awareness of phishing scams
Nottinghamshire Police is backing a national campaign led by Action Fraud over scam emails and text messages.
The campaign will raise awareness of how to report phishing messages, where cyber criminals deceive users to click on links that will download malware or direct them to dodgy websites.
The most impersonated organisations include the NHS, HMRC and gov.uk.
Pc Nick Stenner, of Nottinghamshire Police’s cyber protect team, said: “Phishing scams continue to pose a significant threat for both individuals and businesses, so it is vital everyone is vigilant of unexpected messages or calls that ask for your personal or financial information.
“If you receive a call or message that you think might be a scam, don’t respond to it. Instead, contact the organisation directly using contact information from the company’s official website, and not the links or numbers provided in the message itself.
“Remember, your bank, or any other official source, will never ask you to supply personal information via email or text message.”
There are many ways that cyber criminals can get to people, either through an email asking to verify bank details, a text message claiming that you’ve been in direct contact with someone who has covid-19, etc.
Cyber criminals' goal is usually the same — to deceive people into revealing personal and financial information.
Suspicious emails can be reported by sending an email to report@phishing.gov.uk
Additionally, there is a free of charge mobile network service available to customers to report suspicious text messaged, by forwarding them to the number 7726.
In case of lost money or provided personal information as a result of a phishing scam, it is crucial to notify the bank immediately and report it to Action Fray at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.
More than 12m reports to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service — with the removal of over 83,000 scams and 153,000 malicious websites — were made in the year to May 31.
