Advice from Nottinghamshire Police’s Crime Prevention Unit

Get daily updates:www.nottinghamshire.police.ukwww.twitter.com/nottspolice www.facebook.com/nottspolice www.youtube.com/nottinghampolice

Protect yourself online

Protecting your computer

• MakesureyourWi-Ficonnectionisencryptedwithapasswordsothatotherscannotaccessyourinternetconnection.

• Ensurethatyourcomputeranti-virussoftwareandfirewallsoftwareiskeptup-to-dateandisenabledatalltimes.

• Keepyourcomputeroperatingsystemsup-to-dateandmakesureyoudownloadupdatesregularly.

• Keepyourinternetbrowserup-to-date.

• Makesureyouusestrongpasswordsthatcontainamixtureofletters,numbersandpunctuation.Regularlychangeyouraccountpasswordsanddon’tsharethesewithanyone.Don’tusethesamepasswordforallyouraccounts.

• Youshouldneverreplytospamorunsolicitedemailsfromanunknownoruntrustedsender.Also,don’tdownloadattachmentsorclicklinkstowebpageswithinspamemailsasthesecanoftencontainviruses.

• Whenyoureceivespam,deletetheemailandadjustyourmailboxsettingstoensurefuturespamemailsareputintoyourjunkfolder.

• Whendownloadingfilesmakesureyoudisablefile-sharingtopreventunknownindividualsaccessingyourfiles.

• Ensureyourwebcamisdisconnectedandcoveredwhennotinusetopreventhackersfromremotelyaccessingyourcomputer.

• Registeryourlaptoporcomputeronpropertydatabasewww.immobilise.comforfree.Registeringyourdetailsmakesitmorelikelythatyouwillbereunitedwithyourlaptoporcomputerifitisstolenandlaterrecoveredbyus.

Introduction

Many of us use the internet as part of our daily lives, for banking, shopping, socialising and entertainment.

Follow the advice in this guide to help protect your personal data and keep you and your family safe online.

Protecting yourself online

• Nevershareyourpersonaldatasuchasbankdetails,identitydetailsorwhereyoulivewithanyonethatyoudon’tknoworcan’tverifytheirdetails.

• Don’tgiveyouremailaddressouttopeopleyoudon’tknow.

• Rememberpeoplethatyoumeetonline,mightnotbewhotheyclaimtobe.Don’tarrangetomeetpeoplethatyoudon’tknow.Ifyoudoagreetomeetsomeoneyou’vemadecontactwithonline,makesureyoutellsomeonewhenorwhereyouaregoing,andtakesomeonewithyouifpossible.

• Regularlyreviewyourprivacysettingsonsocialnetworkingsitessothatonlypeopleyouknowcanseeyourinformationandphotos.

• Becautiouswithpop-upsthatappearonyourcomputer.Somepop-upscansaythatyourcomputerhasbeen‘locked’bythepoliceduetoinappropriatematerialbeingviewedandrequestpaymentorvoucherstoresolvetheissue.Thesepop-upsarefraudulentandinnowayassociatedwiththepolice.Ifyougetapop-uplikethis,reportitbycalling101.

• Setyourprivacysettingsto‘friendsonly’.Thismeansonlyyourfriendscanseemostofyourinformation.However,youshouldconsiderthatyourfriends’privacysettingsandlackofsecuritycouldmakeyourinformationavailable.

• RegularlycheckFacebookprivacytermsofservice.Facebookregularlychangesitsprivacytermsofservice.Makesureyoucheckyourprofileandprivacysettingsfrequentlytobeawareofanychangesthathavetakenplace.

• Considerwhoyouarefriendswith.Youshouldonlyacceptpeoplewhoyouknowwellandcantrust.Regularlycheckyourfriendslistandkeepitup-to-date.

• Disablelocationsettings.Thiscanpreventlocationdetailsbeingincludedonphotos.Don’tdisplayyouraddress,telephonenumberoremailaddress-ifyouhaveone,useprivacysettingstoremovethesefrompublicviewing.

• Thinkbeforecommentingonandpostingstatuses.Forexample,doyouwanttoadvertisethefactthatyouaregoingonholiday?Thinkaboutyourhomesecurity.Rememberthatotherscanviewandshareyourposts.Makesureyouselectonlythepeopleyouwishtoviewyourinformation,andbeawarethatyourpostingsmayfeatureonyourfriends’newsfeedtoo.

• Monitoryourphotosand‘tagging’.Ensureyourprivacysettingsaresetsothatonlyyourfriendscanseeyourphotosandonesyou’retaggedin.Ifyoudon’twanttobetaggedinphotos,youcanremoveyour‘tag’.Youcanalsosetyouraccounttoapprovetaggedphotosbeforetheyappearinyournewsfeed.

• Becautiouswhenclickingonlinks.Ensureyoudon’tclickonlinksunlessyouaresureofthesource.Thesecanoftencontainmalware.Malwareismalicioussoftwareintendedtoharmyourcomputerorstealpersonalinformation.

• Commonharmfullinksclaimtobefromyourfriendsaskingyoutowatchvideosandothersoffer‘free’softwaredownloads.Remember,thinkbeforeyouclick!

• Becarefulwithyourphotos.Don’tpostimagesofyourselforfamilymemberswhichcouldbeusedtoidentifyyou.Forexamplehousenumbers,streetnames,placeofwork,carregistrationetc.Don’tuseachild’snameinacaptionorphototags,orshareonlineinformationaboutyourchild’slifesuchastheirschoolnameorthenamesoftheirfriendsthatcouldcompromisetheirsafety.Youcanrestrictaccesstoyourphotosorblockspecificpeoplefromseeingthem.

• Ensureyoulogout.Makesureyoualwayslogoff.Otherwisethenextpersontousethecomputerwillalreadybeloggedintoyouraccount.However,ifyoudoforgettologoutofanactivesessionyoucanremotelyclosethesessionfromtheaccountsecuritysectionoftheaccountsettingspage.

Protecting yourself on social media

This information mainly applies to Facebook but should be applied across other social media sites along with the information in the ‘protecting yourself online’ section.

For further advice:

Own Your Space: A guide to Facebook Security: www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-security/ownyourspace-a-guide-to-facebook-security/10150261846610766

The Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre: www.thinkuknow.co.uk

Makesureyoucheckthefollowingwhenpurchasingonline.

• Checkthatthecompanyyou’rewishingtopurchasefromisgenuine.Ifyou’renotsure,contactthemtoconfirmbeforepurchasing,orpurchasefromanalternativeonlineretailer.

• Whenmakingonlinepurchasesmakesuretheconnectionissecurebylookingforthepadlockiconatthetoporbottomoftheinternetbrowser.Securewebaddressesshouldalsobeginwith‘https’.

• Purchasingonlinewithacreditcardcouldprovideyouwithmorepaymentprotectionthanusingadebitcard.CheckwithyourbankoruseothersecurepaymentmethodssuchasPayPal.

• Alwayscheckyourcreditcardandbankstatementstomakesurethatthecorrectamounthasbeendebitedandtherearenoothersuspicioustransactions,whichcouldindicateyoumayhavebeendefrauded.Ensureyoushredbankstatementsandreceiptsusingacross-cutshredder.

• Don’tprovidepersonaldetailsviaemail.Yourbankwillneveraskforpasswordsorsecuritycodesonlineviaemail.

• Mostscamsandfraudsagainstcompaniesandindividualsfallintotwocategories:

WiththankstotheMetropolitanPoliceService’sOperationSterlingTeamwhohavecreatedtheLittleBookofBigScamsbooklettoincreaseawarenessofscamsandteachyousomeeasystepstoprotectyourselves.

www.met.police.uk/docs/little_book_scam.pdfForadditionalinformationonscamsvisittheA-ZofFraudsectionontheActionFraudwebsite.www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z_of_fraud

Phishingisanattempttotrickusersintorevealingpersonalinformationorfinancialdata.

• Phishingemailsarenotusuallysenttoyourownname,generaltermsareusedsuchas‘Dearaccountholder’.

• Emailstendtorequestimmediateactionsuchaschangingyourpasswordorprovidingbankdetails,otherwiseyouraccountmaybeclosed.

• Phishingemailsusuallycontainspellingandgrammarmistakes.

• Theemailaddressofthesenderisusuallydifferenttothatofthetrustedcompany’swebsiteaddress.

• Linkswithintheemaildirectyoutoaninsecurewebsitethatdoesnotfeaturethepadlockiconorasecurewebaddressstartingwithhttps://

• Spamemailstendtobefromsomeoneyoudon’tknow.Althoughsometimesifsomeone’semailaddresshasbeencompromisedemailscanbecirculatedtotheiraddressbook.

• Spamemailsusuallycontainspellingandgrammarmistakes.

• Oftenspamemailscontainspecialoffersorpromotions.

• Neverclickanembeddedlinkinanemailfromsomeoneyoudon’tknoworanuntrustedsource.Thesecancontainvirusesortakeyoutowebsitescontaininginappropriatematerial.

• Remember,ifitsoundstoogoodtobetrue,itusuallyis!

• Lying/deceivinginordertogetsomeonetopartwithmoneyorgoods.Forexample,apersonordersandpaysforgoodsoraservice,anditturnsouttobeaninferiorordifferentproduct.Itmaynotevenexist.

• Acquiringpersonalandfinancialdatawhichisusedtodefraudthevictimand/orusedtodefraudothers.Usuallythisinformationisobtainedeitherbyrequestingtheinformationoverthetelephoneorinternet.Thevictimistrickedintorevealingittothefraudsterorthevictim’scomputerisattackedsodatacanbedirectlyacquiredordiverted.Oncetheinformationhasbeenacquireditcanbeusedtoobtaingoodsviacreditcarddetails.

Shopping online

Scams

Spotting ‘phishing’ emails

Spam emails

It’simportanttomakesureyouknowhowtouseyourcomputerandhowtolookupthewebsitesyourchildisaccessing.Makesureyourestrictorblockwebsitesandmaterialifnecessarytoprotectyourchild.

Ensureyourchild:

• Understandsthatpeopleonlinemightnotbewhotheyclaimtobe.

• Doesn’taccessprivatechatrooms.

• Knowsnevertomeetupwithsomeonetheyhavecontactedonlinewithoutyourpermission.

• Knowsnottoopenemailsorfilessentfromanunknownoruntrustedsender.

• Knowsnottorespondtomessagesthataresexuallysuggestive,provocativeorthreatening.

• Thinkscarefullybeforecommentingorpostingphotosofthemselvesonlineandonsocialnetworkingsites.

• Knowstotalktoyou,ateacherorsomeoneelsetheycantrustiftheyareworriedaboutsomethingtheyhaveseenorbeensentonline.

• Knowstotalktoyouiftheyarebeingbulliedonline.

• Ifyouoryourchildseesinappropriatecontentonawebsiteorsocialnetworkingsite,makesureyoureportitdirectlytowherethecontentappearsonline.

• IfthecontentrelatestoacrimecommittedintheUK,reportittothepoliceon101.Inthecaseofanemergencyalwaysdial999.

• ContactyourInternetServiceProvider.

YoucangetmoreadviceandreportsuspectedfraudtoActionFraudUK:

• Call0300 123 2040

• VisittheActionFraudwebsitewww.actionfraud.police.uk andreportthefraudonline.

Formoreonlinesafetyadvicevisitwww.getsafeonline.org

Advice for parents and guardians

How to report a problem online

How to report fraud and get advice

Nottinghamshire Alert

NottinghamshireAlertisasystemwhichallowsNottinghamshirePolice,NeighbourhoodWatchinNottinghamshireandotherorganisationsthatworkforthepublictosendcommunitysafetymessagestoyouquicklyandefficiently.

Ifyouareinterestedingettingupdatesonmajorincidents,adviceoncrimepreventionandcommunitysafetyandalertsaboutcriminalsoperatinginyourarea,makesureyouareregisteredwiththesystem.

YoucanreportantisocialbehaviourinyourareaandreceiveresponsesfrompoliceabouttheincidentyouhavereportedandfindouthowtojoinaNeighbourhoodWatchschemeorsetupyourowninyourstreetbyregistering.

What do I get?

• Atotallyfreeservice—youcancontrolyourmessagesettingsandchoosetoreceivealertsviaemail,textmessagetoyourmobilephoneorrecordedvoicemail.Youcanunsubscribeatanytime.

• Informationaboutcrimetrends,incidentsandappealsfromauthorisedpoliceofficersandpolicestaff.

• Start,manageorrequesttojoinaNeighbourhoodWatchschemeinyourarea.

• Configurehow,whenandwhichmessagesyou’dliketoreceive.

IfyouwanttoknowmoreaboutNottinghamshireAlert,contactNottinghamshirePolice’sPreCrimeUnit.

Tel: 101,extension8003011

Email: nottinghamshirealert@nottinghamshire.pnn.police.uk

ToregisterforNottinghamshireAlert,visitwww.nottinghamshirealert.co.uk

Ifyouwouldlikeapapercopyoftheregistrationform,call101orvisityourlocalpolicestationtorequestone.

Formoreadviceoncrimepreventioncontact

NottinghamshirePolice’sPreCrimeUnitArrowCentreHucknallNottinghamshireNG158AY

Tel:101

Telluswhatprioritiesyouwantyourlocalpolicetofocusonwithouronlinesurvey

www.neighbourhoodprioritysurvey.co.uk

Ifyouhaveinformationaboutcriminalsoperatinginyourarea,callCrimestoppersanonymouslyon

0800555111