In this blog, I will set out the ideal setup for your business IT systems. It represents current best practices for small and medium-sized businesses, with an…
Good question! Take a look at our blog piece (s) on the subject:
Interesting question! We’ve written a blog piece on this subject of hackers, you can read it here: https://freshmango.co.uk/blog/why-hackers-hack/
Long story short – don’t take it personally if you get hit – it’s usually not you that they are targeting, even though it feels very personal.
You may also enjoy this blog piece.
Yes they do – in fact, the security settings on a home modem/routers matter whether or not you are working from home.
Most home modem/routers are provided free of charge by your internet provider. This means they are usually very basic. Furthermore, the administrative credentials for accessing them are typically not very secure – Admin/Admin is quite typical of a username and password. (NB these are not to be confused with the password that your provider provides for WIFI access). There is a huge amount of information available online about router/modem models and how to ‘hack’ them.
For this reason, you should ensure your router/modem administrative credentials are made secure. If you are working from home regularly it is worth considering upgrading to a professional-grade router for additional security.
I recently received three texts – two from mobile network provider EE and the third from HMRC.
The texts from EE came from separate mobile numbers. Both stated that my direct debit for my mobile number was no longer working and I needed to reinstate it. They helpfully provided a link to allow me to do this.
I typed the link into a web browser to see what it would say. Sure enough, it was an EE landing page that first asked for some basic credentials. Although the EE page looked convincing, I noticed that every other link on the page, eg ‘Contact us’ or the Welsh version, always resolved to the page I was on.
Anyway, I entered some false credentials, and it took me to another page, where I was asked for my full name, business address, and business bank account information. At that point, I stopped.
Although it was clear to me it was a scam, it may not be so for everyone. It’s easy to envisage being tricked by this, especially if you are concerned your mobile number is going to be cut off.
If you receive a text like this report it to the true provider via their actual website, in this case, EE.
The HMRC text stated that I was due a tax refund, and again there was a link to follow. Sure enough, the landing page looked like HMRC, again no other links worked. The second page requested credit card information, helpfully advising me I was due a £1,100 refund, even though I had entered false credentials. Same modus operandi as EE, another clear scam.
HMRC actually has a page for reporting scams – https://www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing/report-hmrc-phishing-emails-texts-and-phone-call-scams – please do use it if you receive a text similar to the one I received.
So, please stay aware, text scams increasing are a real problem. As usual, if you are being asked to do something urgently or it seems too good to be true, do not take action. If in doubt, call the company or organisation using their details from a Google search.
