18 November 2019
The Government of Jersey is reminding people to protect themselves while shopping online in the run-up to Christmas. A campaign launched today is urging islanders to follow 5 ‘golden rules’ to protect themselves from cybercrime.
As well as Christmas present-buying, events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday will lead to more people shopping online, which could leave them vulnerable to cybercrime.
In 2018, The States of Jersey Police received 212 reports of online fraud, with 31 individuals reporting that they had lost money. The main driver of these crimes was social engineering, where criminals pretend to represent a trusted organisation such as a bank, the police or a utility company.
To give themselves a better chance of staying safe online, individuals are being reminded to take several simple steps:
- Use different passwords for every account, especially bank and email accounts
- Be cautious of email requests or cold callers
- Turn on automatic updates to ensure devices have up-to-date protection
- Avoid posting personal or financial information on social media
- Don’t click links or open attachments from unknown or unfamiliar sources
More information on how to stay safe online is available at
Get Safe Online.
gov.je