Summer is finally here and along with it comes a social calendar filled with festivals, events and outdoor gigs. Whilst many of us may be ready to dive into a summer full of plans, concert and festival go-ers must be on guard against online scams that could leave consumers out of pocket.
Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, recently warned the public about concert ticket and holiday bookings scams, revealing that in 2022 £6.7 million was lost due ticket fraud alone*.
Mark Johnson, online safety expert and Head of Customer Security at value connectivity provider TalkTalk, shares his five tips for outsmarting the online scammers this summer:
- Stick to reliable sites – Online scammers may use third party sites or marketplaces to pose as ticket sellers, getting people to pay for tickets they will never receive. Using a tool to help check if a website is safe such as Get Safe Online’s free website checker.
- Be wary of deals you receive on social media, email or WhatsApp – Whilst the appeal of a good deal might tempt you, the information you receive via social, WhatsApp or email might be too good to be true! Only click through if you are 100% sure that the source is genuine, make sure you know the person contacting you or the email is from a mailing list you’re signed up to.
- Make sure you pay using your debit or credit card – Always avoid paying by bank transfer, by using your debit or credit card you can protect your money, credit cards offer Section 75 protection against purchase scams. Using a secure payment site, such as PayPal is also a great way to ensure the safety of your money should something go wrong.
- If you fall victim to a ticket scam, contact your bank straight away – Make sure you are using the correct phone number to report the scam. TalkTalk customers can use the 159 short code from their landline to get straight through to the bank's fraud team if the bank supports the service.
- Find out if your connectivity provider offers FREE security features – TalkTalk Full Fibre 150, 500 and 900 customers can make use of Amazon eero’s inbuilt security system ‘eeroSecure’ which allows you to protect all your families’ devices by adding SafeSearch and filtering, meaning you can block potentially risky third-party ticket sites.
TalkTalk’s Head of Customer Security, Mark Johnson, said: “Online safety is always important but especially during the busy summer period when people are buying tickets or booking holidays online, and with new scams cropping up every day, it’s never been more important to take care of your hard-earned cash.”
“At TalkTalk, we’re all about offering great value Wi-Fi with everything you need included as standard. That’s why we offer free security features, like eeroSecure device protection or HomeSafe web filter, at no extra cost – enabling our customers to shop online with peace of mind this summer.”
For more tips on how to stay safe online visit: https://community.talktalk.co.uk/
About TalkTalk’s online security features:
HomeSafe is included at no extra cost with TalkTalk’s Fibre 35 and Fibre 65 packages. It is a family-friendly web filter for home Wi-Fi, blocking inappropriate content, as well as sites that could harbour malware, for any device that’s connecting to it. It’s free, there’s nothing to download – it just needs activating in My Account.
SuperSafe can be added to TalkTalk’s Fibre 35 and Fibre 65 packages. It provides online protection for up to 10 devices for just £5 a month, through its Online Defence and Password Manger features. The security feature fights online viruses that try to infect a device or try to steal personal information, as well as securely storing passwords. It’s software that’s downloaded onto any mobile tablet or computer.
eeroSecure is a free security feature (RRP £99 a year) that comes included as standard with TalkTalk’s Full Fibre 150, 500 and 900 packages. It works alongside the Amazon eero router included with these plans to block, filter and protect devices from malware, viruses and phishing attacks. eeroSecure is available via the eero app.
Q&A – background notes:
What are the current scam trends?
In the past few months, Action Fraud have warned the public about concert ticket and holiday booking scams. Data from the organisation shows that in 2022 £6.7 million was lost due ticket fraud alone.
For anyone looking to keep ahead of the latest online scams, you can sign up to Action Fraud’s free alert, which sends you accurate information about scams and fraud in your area by email, recorded voice and text message.
How has AI changed things for consumers?
With the advancement of AI in recent years there is always the possibility that AI could be used to generate more convincing phishing emails and texts that appear to be more legitimate. This is something we will continue to monitor and observe as AI progresses.
How might the apps they download put them at risk?
Malicious apps that are not strictly controlled can do damage such as stealing banking details and making payments as well as stealing personal data such as emails, chat messages, location, passwords and photos, among others.
Is it worth installing security software on a phone? Or, could encouraging this lead to more people downloading dodgy 'security' apps?
Legitimate security software is worth downloading to keep you safe online, for example TalkTalk’s SuperSafe can be downloaded onto any mobile, tablet or computer and works by protecting the specific device, wherever it’s online from viruses and scams. It provides online protection for up to 10 devices for just £5 a month.
TalkTalk Full Fibre 150, 500 and 900 customers can also download the eero app to customise their security using eeroSecure, which is a free security feature that works alongside Amazon eero routers to block, filter and protect devices from malware, viruses and phishing attacks.
What's a little known TalkTalk security feature consumers should know about?
TalkTalk offers a range of FREE online security features for its customers:
HomeSafe is included at no extra cost with TalkTalk’s Fibre 35 and Fibre 65 packages. It is a family-friendly web filter for home Wi-Fi, blocking inappropriate content, as well as sites that could harbour malware, for any device that’s connecting to it. It’s free, there’s nothing to download – it just needs activating in My Account.
eeroSecure is a free security feature (RRP £99 a year) that comes included as standard with TalkTalk’s Full Fibre 150, 500 and 900 packages. It works alongside the Amazon eero router included with these plans to block, filter and protect devices from malware, viruses and phishing attacks. eeroSecure is available via the eero app.