Public urged to secure second-hand devices ahead of January sales

Usually the post-Christmas and New Year period sees a rise in the number of people selling their secondhand devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, replacing them with newer versions. 

These devices  (especially smartphones) – contain more work, personal, and financial data than ever before which is extremely important to erase before selling so it doesn't fall into the hands of criminals. 

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has advice and guidance for buying and selling second-hand devices.

This includes information for:

1. Before you erase the data on your device

2. Erasing the data on your device

3. Choosing a second-hand device

4. Before using your second-hand device

The full guidance can be found at: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/buying-sellingsecond-hand-devices

DPD Phishing Scam

Fraudsters have been fake DPD messages to lure victims into a phishing scam. The messages say the recipient has missed two attempted deliveries of a parcel, and provides instructions on how to arrange another delivery. The link then takes victims to a fraudulent website and requests payment. If this payment is made, victims then receive a phone call from someone purporting to be from their bank suggesting that the payment is fraudulent and they should transfer their money into what they are led to believe is a ‘secure’ account.

Advice on how to avoid this scam:

To check the email or text is safe, only emails sent from one of three DPD email addresses are genuine. These are dpd.co.uk, dpdlocal.co.uk or dpdgroup.co.uk.

Your bank, or other official organisations, will never ask you to share personal or financial information over the phone, or via text or email.

If you need to check that it’s a genuine message, contact them directly.

If you have received an email which you’re unsure about, you can report it by forwarding it to report@phishing.gov.uk