Help on hand to shop securely online this Mother's Day

8 Mar 2021 02:20 PM

Shoppers are being urged to follow Cyber Aware advice to help avoid online scams ahead of Mothering Sunday.

Shoppers have been given advice on countering callous fraudsters as online orders are expected to rise for flowers and other Mother’s Day gifts this year.

Coronavirus restrictions have led to a significant shift from in-store to online shopping, with figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for January showing a record high for online sales, accounting for over a third of total retail spending (32.5%).

The National Cyber Security Centre – a part of GCHQ – is asking people to follow the cross-government Cyber Aware campaign advice to help secure their devices from cyber criminals who may look to cash in on Mother’s Day this year (Sunday 14th March).

The Cyber Aware advice can be found at www.cyberaware.gov.uk and sets out six key behaviours people can follow to help them stay secure online, such as setting up a strong password that is made up of three random words to protect any new online accounts

NCSC Deputy Director for Economy and Society, Sarah Lyons yesterday said:

“Cyber criminals are opportunistic and always ready to exploit peak online shopping moments, and unfortunately, family occasions like Mother’s Day are no different.

“We want everyone to shop with confidence and peace of mind this Mother’s Day. The Cyber Aware website has advice on the six key behaviours that can be easily followed to protect yourself.”

The campaign sets out six key behaviours people can adopt to protect their online accounts and devices from the majority of cyber crime. These free, practical steps are:

  1. Use a strong and separate password for your email
  2. Create strong passwords using 3 random words
  3. Save your passwords in your browser
  4. Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA)
  5. Update your devices and apps
  6. Back up your data

People who receive suspicious emails with Mother’s Day gift offers can also forward them to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service, using the email address report@phishing.gov.uk. Anybody who receives a suspicious text message can report this by forwarding it to 7726.

The Cyber Aware campaign is delivered by the NCSC working alongside the Home Office, the Cabinet Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The campaign is supported by leading organisations such as Microsoft, Sainsbury’s, BT and EE, who are actively helping their customers adopt Cyber Aware’s key behaviours.