Campaign launched to help online Christmas shoppers fight festive fraud

Published date:

Santa character online shopping with credit card in hand

The NI Cyber Security Centre have teamed up with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to promote the Cyber Aware campaign to Northern Ireland shoppers. The campaign encourages the public to adopt six behaviours to protect their online accounts and devices.

Shoppers buying Christmas presents online have been urged to follow a new cyber safety campaign after criminals swindled an average of £775 from each victim over the last festive period. With more people expected to shop online this year due to coronavirus restrictions, a new NCSC website and television advertising campaign have been launched.

The campaign encourages the public to adopt six behaviours to protect their online accounts and devices.

These are:

  1. Use a strong and separate password for your email
    Your email is the way into all your online accounts so keep it safe with a strong password that is different to all your others.
  2. Create strong passwords using 3 random words
    The longer your password, the harder it is to hack. Long passwords can be difficult to remember. But using three random words will help you create passwords that are both long and strong.
  3. Save your passwords in your browser
    Remembering lots of passwords can be difficult, but if you save them in your browser you don't have to and it's safer than re-using the same password for all your accounts.
  4. Turn on two-factor authentication (2 FA)
    This free security feature adds an extra layer of protection online and stops cyber criminals getting into your accounts, even if they have your password.
  5. Update your devices and apps
    Using the latest software, apps and operating system can fix bugs and immediately improve your security.
  6. Back up your data
    If your device is compromised by a cyber criminal your sensitive personal data can be lost, damaged or stolen. Keep a copy of your important information by backing it up.

The campaign is supported by leading organisations such as Microsoft, Vodafone, BT, ASOS, Barclays and Citizens Advice, who are actively helping their customers adopt Cyber Aware’s key behaviours.

For example, Microsoft accounts and devices are protected with multi-factor authentication, which they say is an effective block against 99.9% of attacks on accounts.

Further Information

Visit the official campaign website www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware/home