Helping you stay safe online

At Farley & Thompson we are keen to help you stay safe online and it is with that in mind that we have developed this guide to help you.

As many of you will be aware there have been an increasing number of cyber threats and attacks affecting businesses and individuals over recent years.

This guide will cover the online safety basics needed to help you stay safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are phishing scams?

Phishing scams are scams delivered via email that are designed ultimately to steal money. Scammers can do this by installing malicious software on your computer or by using social engineering to convince you to hand over personal information or even the money itself.

What is the difference between phishing, vishing and smishing?

Phishing scams are scams delivered via email, vishing scams are scams delivered via phone and smishing scams are scams delivered by SMS text messaging.

What should I do if I think I have received a phishing email?

If you receive an email that you think may be a phishing email, delete it immediately. Do not click on any links, open any attachments or forward the email.

What kind of scams are out there?

Online scams can range from identity theft to online shopping scams and the Action Fraud website has put together a useful A-Z guide of online fraud – www.actionfraud.police.uk/fraud-az-online-fraud

How do I avoid scams

* Be aware that scams are out there and emails may not be what they seem – remember if it looks too good to be true it probably is!
* If it looks suspicious do not open it!
* Do not give out your bank login details, genuine banks will not request this via email or phone
* Be wary of requests for your details or money and be wary of unusual payment requests

How can I protect myself?

* create long complex passwords
* never give login details, personal or financial information via email
* use anti-virus software and keep it up to date
* make sure you install your operating system updates
* before purchasing something online check that the site is secure (https at the start of the address rather than http)

Email

Don’t open attachments on emails where you don’t recognise the sender. Often the emails will look like they come from “Paypal,” “Ebay” and other known sources. If you are in doubt, delete the email and go to the known website and view the message there.

Don’t take financial instruction from email. There has been an increase in emails seemingly from a business like Farley & Thompson asking for payments to be made to an account.

Don’t click on suspicious files in any email. If in doubt, call the sender to ensure the email is valid.

Web Browsing

Make sure you are using a modern browser (Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari)  and make sure it is up to date.

Ensure you are running anti-virus and this is kept updated.

General Security

Please make sure all your devices are running anti-virus.

Please make sure you have run your operating system updates.

Keep your devices clean.

Only install software from trusted sources and don’t leave trial or demo software installed.

Make sure that you are using complex passwords that are a random mix of letters, numbers and characters. Use different passwords for different accounts and change them regularly.

Things to remember

Your bank will never email you asking for your pin or password.

Watch out for emails with poor grammar or inaccurate spellings.

Be wary of emails with deadlines or threats to cut off your account. Panic is a method cyber criminals use to get you login to fake sites or provide sensitive information.
Our mission is to build trust, provide clear and comprehensible advice, be accessible to our clients and strengthen relationships that last across the generations.
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Farley & Thompson LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership registered in England and Wales under number OC324180

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