A serious alert has been sounded for anyone with social media or email accounts, including platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Yahoo! or Gmail. The warning comes from Action Fraud after a surge in reports of hacked services.
Shockingly, over £1.3 million has been lost to online fraud in the last year alone. With email and social media accounts becoming prime targets for hackers, Action Fraud stresses the importance of urgent security measures to protect your digital presence.
As part of Cyber Security Awareness Month, Action Fraud is spearheading a campaign to raise awareness about the risks of social media and email account hacking. “Action Fraud is launching an awareness campaign on social media and email account hacking for Cyber Security Awareness Month this year, encouraging the public to protect their online accounts from fraudsters”, the National Fraud and Cyber Crime service said.
One common error that puts users at risk is the use of identical passwords across various platforms, which simplifies the process for cybercriminals to gain access. “Using the same password for multiple accounts? That means criminals only need to steal one of your passwords to hack into multiple accounts,” Action Fraud warned.
To avoid being vulnerable, it’s recommended to start using strong, unique passwords for each of your email and social media profiles. A helpful tip from Action Fraud is to create passwords by combining three random but memorable words, reports the Mirror. This makes them tough for hackers to crack while still being easy for you to remember.
For instance, you might combine your birth month with your best friend’s name and favourite holiday spot, like ‘decembersusantenerife’. To bolster security, include a mix of special characters, uppercase letters, and numbers, for example, ‘D3cember$usantener1fe’.
It’s also wise to activate 2-Step Verification (2SV) on your email and social media accounts, which prevents new devices from logging in without entering a unique code received via text message.
“Cyberattacks and hacking are carried out by faceless cybercriminals who target unsuspecting victims looking to take advantage of unprotected social media and email accounts,” explained Adam Mercer, Deputy Director of Action Fraud.
“With this being the top cybercrime reported last financial year, it’s even more important to take action and ensure you lock down your accounts. Protect yourself from fraudsters trying to steal or access your valuable information by ensuring your social media and email account passwords are secure.
“All your passwords should be different and never shared with anyone else. If you have the option, enable 2-step verification to ensure you have twice the protection for all your accounts.”