Staying safe online

The Internet is full of wonderful things - but it's also full of cheats and cons. Don't let that put you off, just be careful and use these articles to understand more about how it works.

Emails

One major way people can get caught out online is by clicking on a link from a nasty email. That link could take you to a page you don't want to visit, or it could actually download something to your computer - potentially a virus or something which will spy on what you're doing. We post details of dodgy emails we hear about here but if you get an email you're not sure about, stray on the side of caution and don't click on links in it or download attachments from it.

Sometimes you get emails from people you know but with funny links or attachments. This can mean their account has been compromised - someone has hacked into their email account and is emailing their contacts in the hopes people will click on the links/download the attachments because they think they know the sender.

If anything comes from your bank asking for your bank details - call your bank, using a phone number from your bank statement (not from the email or from any web pages you visit as a result of clicking on links in the email) and verify what's real. Most banks state in their official correspondence that they will never ask you for sensitive info via email.

Language

Spam emails or websites can be written in broken English. If the email you're dubious about or the website you're unsure of seems to have a lot of typos or doesn't quite make sense, this can be a sign that it's up to no good.

Links

We've got a whole article on how to understand links before you click on them.

Treat the Internet like you would the rest of the world – if a deal is too good to be true, don’t trust it. If something seems untrustworthy, move away. If a site is pushing you for details you wouldn’t normally want to give someone if they came and knocked on your door, don’t do it.