Cyber Smart Week is here!
This Cyber Smart Week (21-27 October), we’re supporting the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) by encouraging you all to own your online. There are some simple prevention measures that we can all take to make life much harder for cyber criminals.
The scary reality is that New Zealanders lose $198m to scams each year.
Because people assume they’d not be stupid enough to fall for an online attack, many of us don’t take simple actions to protect ourselves online. However, people aren’t foolish, they’re optimistic, busy, juggling, and eager to please... like we all can be.
We’re all human, and our humanity is what can make us vulnerable to online attacks.
While these fraudsters play on our human nature, there are things every New Zealander can do to protect themselves online. But NCSC’s latest results highlight that many of us don’t do them:
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43% use the same passwords for their online accounts
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30% admit to not using strong passwords for their main online accounts
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32% do not use two-factor authentication for their main online accounts
All of which leave us vulnerable for scammers to prey on our innate kindness as a way into our hearts... and bank accounts. It is through this ‘generosity’ that we’re inadvertently ‘donating’ to scammers every year.
So, for this year's Cyber Smart Week, NCSC is launching The Scamathon.
The Scamathon shows scammers who are excitedly thanking us for our kind donation, a bit like the Telethon events from the 70’s and 80’s. It’s a way of showing us all how sometimes our kindness is preyed upon to get us reaching into our wallets for more sinister motives.
The campaign encourages people to avoid ‘donating’ to scammers, by showing ways we can all help stop The Scamathon – in particular, by:
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Having long, strong and unique passwords, and
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Turning on two-factor authentication across your online accounts.
Find out more about Cyber Smart Week and The Scamathon at ownyouronline.govt.nz/scamathon
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