A warning has been issued, urging all users of social media and email accounts, including platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Yahoo!, or Gmail, to take immediate action. The alert comes from Action Fraud following a significant increase in reports of hacked services. Shockingly, online fraud has led to losses exceeding £1.3 million in the past year alone. With email and social media accounts increasingly targeted by hackers, Action Fraud emphasises the critical need for swift security measures to safeguard your digital presence.
As part of Cyber Security Awareness Month, Action Fraud is leading a campaign to raise awareness about the risks associated with social media and email account hacking. The National Fraud and Cyber Crime service stated, “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.”
One common mistake that leaves users vulnerable is the practice of using the same passwords across multiple platforms, making it easier for cybercriminals to exploit. Action Fraud cautioned, “Using the same password for multiple accounts? That means criminals only need to steal one of your passwords to hack into multiple accounts.” To enhance security, it is advised to use strong, unique passwords for each email and social media account.
Action Fraud recommends creating passwords using three random but memorable words, making them difficult for hackers to crack yet easy for users to remember. For example, combining your birth month with a friend’s name and a favourite holiday destination could result in a password like ‘decembersusantenerife’. Including special characters, uppercase letters, and numbers can further strengthen the password, for instance, ‘D3cember$usantener1fe’.
Enabling 2-Step Verification (2SV) on email and social media accounts adds an extra layer of security, requiring a unique code sent via text message to log in from new devices. Adam Mercer, Deputy Director of Action Fraud, highlighted the threat posed by cybercriminals targeting unprotected social media and email accounts. Mercer stressed the significance of securing all accounts by using different passwords and enabling 2-step verification to prevent fraudulent access to sensitive information.
Take immediate action to protect your online presence from potential fraudsters by ensuring your social media and email account passwords are secure, unique, and not shared with anyone else. The implementation of 2-step verification across all accounts can provide added protection against attempts to steal or compromise valuable data. Stay vigilant and safeguard your digital identity in the face of rising cyber threats.