News
Scots have been warned to be aware of ‘catfishing’ romance fraud in the run-up to Valentine’s Day. Advice Direct Scotland, which runs the national consumer advice service consumeradvice.scot, has launched a new campaign highlighting the tactics used by scammers to exploit situations of loneliness or isolation of their targets.
Online dating has become a very popular way to meet someone new.
The majority of accounts on dating websites are genuine people looking for romance, but fraudsters have been known to target those looking for love.
Cyber criminals “meet” people on dating sites, then take the conversation onto private messaging, build up a picture of their victim, then take any opportunity to steal money from them. Criminals who commit romance fraud trawl through profiles and piece together information such as wealth and lifestyle, in order to manipulate their victims.
To increase awareness of cyber threats nationally, the CyberScotland Partnership is calling on businesses and individuals across Scotland to get involved with the fifth annual CyberScotland Week.
Cyber criminals are well aware of current affairs, the day to day events which have a bearing and impact on our daily lives, and they will seek different ways to exploit topical events in an effort to make their phishing attempts more convincing – so we have to remain vigilant as they will continue their scamming efforts in 2023.
Phishing emails will appear as being genuine and the scammers will either include a nefarious link that will download a malware to your computer, or direct you to a fake website asking for bank details or other personal information.
The end of February will mark the second anniversary of the CyberScotland Partnership. Over the past year, the CyberScotland Partnership has collaborated on cyber security campaigns for a range of audiences, and created resources to help organisations prepare for cyber incidents.
Our colleagues at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the UK’s technical authority on cyber security, have issued an advisory highlighting the activities of the Russia-based SEABORGIUM and Iran-based TA453.
These state sponsored threat actors continue to successfully use spear-phishing attacks against targeted organisations and individuals in the UK, and other areas of interest, for information gathering activity.
Although there is similarity in the tactics techniques, procedures and targeting profiles, these campaigns are separate and the two groups are not collaborating.
Join us for CyberScotland Week 2023 (27th Feb – 5th March). A week of events focused on raising cyber awareness, developing skills and promoting innovation.
Abertay University has announced the first founding partners connected to its Abertay cyberQuarter centre – Scotland’s new hub for cybersecurity research, development and economic growth.
Christmas holidays are a prime time for criminals to take advantage of. Take the time now to review your business continuity plan and know where you can seek advice and support should you need it.
The NCSC are urging individuals to protect their personal accounts, check before they buy, and use secure payment methods to stay ahead of the threat from criminals this shopping season.
We spoke with Superintendent Hilary Sloan from Police Scotland about the benefits of working in partnership to support cyber crime prevention messaging.
Test your fraud and scam knowledge today to keep your business safe with Take Five’s ‘Can You Spot Fraud?’ quiz.