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Dear Residents of Cranford. Please read the important information below offering tips to protect yourself from cybercrime! TIP 1 - HAVE STRONG PASSWORDS Simple passwords can easily be guessed by criminals. Don't use words personal to you (sports teams, pets, family names etc.) and never share them with anyone! Always have a different password for your email. TIP 2 - USE ANTIVIRUS Antivirus is your first line of defence. Make sure you use it, and it's kept up to date. Viruses and malicious software (malware) can infect any device (computers, phones, etc). Once malware is there, it can lock you out, steal your information or even watch you in your home! Antivirus protects against malware. TIP 3 - ALWAYS UPDATE SOFTWARE Vulnerabilities are like holes in your device's systems. Updates and patches fill holes in. Software is never perfect. Often is has vulnerabilities or holes that criminals can use to access your systems. When a vulnerability is found, the software developer creates and releases an update or patch to fix the problem. TIP 4 - ALWAYS BACK UP DATA Make copies of things that are important to you. Keep these copies safe. Your files, contacts and photos may be some of the most important things on your computer. If your computer were to break, or become infected, having a safe backup means you don't lose them. TIP 5 - TURN ON TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION (2FA) Two-factor authentication proves you are who you claim to be online. Passwords can be stolen by cyber criminals. However, accounts that have been set up to use 2FA will require you to input an extra ‘factor’. This will be something only you can access like a code sent to you by text, or generated by an app on your device. So even if a criminal knows your password,. they won't be able to access your accounts. TIP 6 - BE CAUTIOUS USING FREE WIFI Public or free Wi-Fi isn't secure. Someone could be monitoring everything you do. If a Wi-Fi network is free or available to the public, then anyone can be on it and watch the traffic sent between your device and the internet. This means they could steal passwords, emails or even banking details. Also, be careful using apps that automatically login without you having to enter your password. TIP 7 - THINK TWICE BEFORE CLICKING LINKS OR ATTACHMENTS Clicking on unverified links or attachments can give criminals access to your devices. Emails or texts that you receive may contain attachments or links you are asked to click on. If you do, you're bypassing security you have in place. If the message was from a criminal, they can then infect or gain access to your device. TIP 8 - CHECK WHAT YOU'RE SHARING ON SOCIAL MEDIA Unless you're careful on social media, you could be sharing personal information with the wrong people. Social media is great to keep in touch with friends and family, but unless you've checked your privacy settings you might be telling more people about your life than you intend. Be aware that once it's online it will be there forever in one form or another. TIP 9 - ALWAYS QUESTION REQUESTS FOR PERSONAL INFORMATION Criminals will tell you all sorts of stories to get you to part with your money or your data. Whether face to face, over the phone or the internet, criminals will lie to pretend to be someone they're not. They could impersonate police officers, the tax office, your bank or anyone who might trust in order to steal your data, or your money. TIP 10 - REPORT ALL FRAUD AND CYBER CRIME TO ACTION FRAUD It's important all crime is reported, cyber crime is no different. Even if you didn't lose money, you should still report every instance of fraud or cybercrime you're targeted by. Every report assists police investigations, disrupts criminals, and reduces harm. Reports are also used to identify crime trends and create awareness campaigns to help protect people against them. ONLINE REPORT AT www.actionfraud.police.uk or by telephone on 0300 123 2040 FORWARD SUSPICIOUS EMAILS TO reports@phising.gov.uk, and suspicious texts to 7726 
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