For financial professionals only
People and businesses in the UK have lost £2.5bn to fraud and cybercrime in the past year. In the financial sector, a whopping 46% of successful cyber-attacks start with phishing.
Yet it’s easy to do something about it. Just changing a few small habits can hugely improve the chances of keeping your and your clients’ information out of the hands of scammers.
Check if your info has been compromised in a data breach
- Enter your email or telephone number – both personal and corporate information can be checked in seconds https://haveibeenpwned.com/
Check how quickly a password could be ‘cracked’
- Scroll down the page for tips on creating secure passwords too https://www.security.org/how-secure-is-my-password
Set up Multi-Factor Authentication
- Secure your accounts across important websites and protect your Parmenion account by installing our App on your mobile or tablet
Stop trying to remember multiple passwords
- Start using a password manager
Check for signs of phishing
- Look out for impersonations of trusted brands or people in the email address. Attackers can’t send easily emails from a company’s real domain name, so they tend to use generic accounts such as ‘hsbc@gmail.com’.
- Inspect any URLs in the email by hovering over them before clicking.
- Is the request unexpected? Are you being asked to action something urgently? Messages such as ‘send these details within 24 hours’ or ‘you have been a victim of fraud – click here immediately’ are signs of phishing.
- Don’t automatically trust emails from known contacts such as clients, colleagues, or friends –their account may be compromised. Phone them to check; you could be helping them take back control of their account and information.
- Consider the format of the email or text– phishing emails are typically generic and often refer to you as a valued customer, friend, or colleague – rather than by name.
- Beware of URL redirects– pay attention to subtle differences in website content.
- Remember, emails from known cloud applications (such as Google Drive) can still contain malicious files and links– ignore requests you’re not expecting to receive.
Check your recent sign-in activity for important accounts
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This article is for financial professionals only. Any information contained within is of a general nature and should not be construed as a form of personal recommendation or financial advice. Nor is the information to be considered an offer or solicitation to deal in any financial instrument or to engage in any investment service or activity. Parmenion accepts no duty of care or liability for loss arising from any person acting, or refraining from acting, as a result of any information contained within this article. All investment carries risk. The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up and investors may get back less than they put in. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.