Investment scams involve criminals contacting people randomly to persuade them to put their money into investment schemes or products that are either non-existent, or do exist but are worthless. Traditionally, sales pitches promise substantial returns with very little risk, but increasingly, ‘returns’ are decreasing to make the story more credible.

TV Licensing is one of the organisations that scammers frequently try to impersonate. Fraudulent TV Licensing communications are increasingly sent via online means.

Fleeceware is the name given to mobile apps which overcharge users for functions or features that are widely available in free or other low-cost alternatives. In fact, they are developed with the sole purpose of doing so. Typically, the apps cater for hobbies such as photography and music, but have also been found in QR […]

Two-factor authentication – often abbreviated to 2FA – is when a second step is added to the process of logging into your online accounts which require confidentiality, as an additional security layer. These include your email accounts, bank accounts, social media and other websites where you have to log in securely with a username (or […]

The internet has transformed our ability to obtain information, communicate with others, express our views, share our experiences and engage in conversations about any topic of our choice. Technology has made it possible to reach vast audiences at once, or just individuals or small groups. In turn, this accessibility and freedom of expression play a […]

A pyramid scheme is a type of scam that promises the victim a fast and substantial return on an investment of money which is paid to the person ‘above’ them in the pyramid. The victim is also required to recruit a number of people to be ‘beneath’ them in the pyramid, in turn collecting their […]

The internet is an invaluable tool for finding useful, authoritative information on anything from news and current affairs to DIY, health to history, celebrities to Coronavirus. However, it is also littered with misleading information: that which has been originated and shared by people who are misinformed about the subject, and that which has been deliberately […]

Virtual Private Networks all perform the same basic service: providing end-to-end encryption for any data sent through them. This encryption does not stop your data from being intercepted … but merely means that the person reading the content of your data is faced with unintelligible text. All encryption is breakable, in other words the person intercepting […]

Your wireless router needs a password to let you connect your computers, mobile devices and smart devices over Wi-Fi. Routers frequently come with a password that is common to all of the others provided by your ISP. If this is the case, you should change yours to ensure the router remains secure. You may also […]

If you still run Microsoft Windows 7 on your computer, you need to be aware that Microsoft ceased support for the operating system on January 14th 2020. As a result, it no longer issues updates, security patches, bug fixes and Microsoft Security Essentials for the operating system.