Blog Layout
Football fans are warned of cyber threats when they swap their tickets for TV subscriptions.
Jun 17, 2020
With millions of football fans expected to log into subscriptions to stream behind-closed-door games, advice has been issued on how to secure accounts.
The National Cyber Security Centre, which is part of GCHQ, warns online hackers could break into football fans’ accounts to carry out ‘phishing’ scams
Top Cyber Aware tips include how to put a strong password in place and completing device updates that keep accounts safe from hackers.
Football fans have been warned of cyber threats when they swap their tickets for TV subscriptions – and been advised how to watch behind-closed-doors games as safely as possible.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has shone a light on online criminals who could hack into accounts by guessing passwords that are obvious or have been compromised in the past. The organisation previously revealed that almost 700,000 accounts have been compromised through hackers guessing a device’s passwords as ‘liverpool’, ‘chelsea’ or ‘arsenal’.
As well as illegally watching the game the victim has paid for, the hackers could make unauthorised purchases on the platform or look to find personal information that could be used for further scams – including targeting them with scam emails or phone calls.
With the season now back, fans can secure their viewing experience by:
- Refreshing accounts: It’s a great time for fans to consider resetting their password. We’re increasingly seeing hackers use credentials stolen in past security incidents to hijack streaming accounts using the same compromised details. If you’re using the same password for your sports streaming accounts that you’ve used multiple times in the past – it’s time for a reset.
- Setting a strong password: We recommend using a password that’s separate to your email password and made up of three random words. You can then save this strong password in the browser so you don’t have to worry about remembering it.
- Updating streaming apps: Cyber criminals exploit weaknesses in apps to access your sensitive personal data. Providers regularly issue patches to these exploits in updates – you’re vulnerable without them so we urge every fan to make sure their streaming apps are updated. To make it simple going forward, we recommend turning on automatic updates.
For more information please visit the National Cyber Security Centres
website for the full article.
Share this news story...
In a world of 24/7 social media, and apps for everything from flights to coffee’s, oversharing personal information online affects more of us than we might think. Whether you’ve shared a seemingly innocent photo of your dog, a video of you supporting your favourite team, or you’ve unwittingly given away details of your banking or passport details, you could be revealing information that is invaluable to a fraudster or identity thief. There is increasing evidence that employee’s over-sharing personal information on social media platforms can enable or facilitate fraud against their employer; businesses like yours!
SAFE are proud to be in their seventh year as official supporters of International Fraud Awareness Week (IFAW) 2023. This years event takes place from 12-18 November but you don't need to wait until #fraudweek to be a fraud fighter. We've got lots of great tips and advice here and we'll add more as we approach #fraudweek so make sure you keep checking back here. Be sure to like and follow our LinkedIn and X accounts to stay up-to-date with the very latest fraud prevention advice. Fraud and cyber crime account for over 40% of all estimated crime in England and Wales, affecting more people, more often, than any other crime. The social and economic cost to individuals is estimated to be in excess of £4.7 billion a year. The more aware we all are about fraud, the less likely we are to fall victim to it.
53% of all fraud reports made directly to the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHS CFA) in 2022-23 related to NHS staff fraud . The NHS CFA estimate that £22.5m of public money is vulnerable to fraud as a result. One particular type of NHS staff fraud that continues to persist is known as ‘working whilst sick’ fraud. This is where an employee is absent from their NHS position due to illness but starts working, or continues to work, for another employer. This type of fraud is not confined to the NHS, businesses across many different sectors will fall victim and suffer financial losses and associated costs as a result.
