Within the past 24 hours a number of businesses throughout the UK have received extortion demands from a group calling themselves ‘Lizard Squad’.

Method of Attack:
The group have sent emails demanding payment of 5 Bitcoins, to be paid by a certain time and date. The email states that this demand will increase by 5 Bitcoins for each day that it goes unpaid.

If their demand is not met, they have threatened to launch a Denial of Service attack against the businesses’ websites and networks, taking them offline until payment is made.

The demand states that once their actions have started, they cannot be undone.

What to do if you’ve received  one of these demands:

• Report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or by using the online reporting tool
• Do not pay the demand
• Retain the original emails (with headers)
• Maintain a timeline of the attack, recording all times, type and content of the contact

If you are experiencing a DDoS right now you should:

• Report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 immediately.
• Call your Internet Service Provider (ISP) (or hosting provider if you do not host your own Web server), tell them you are under attack and ask for help.
• Keep a timeline of events and save server logs, web logs, email logs, any packet capture, network graphs, reports etc.

Get Safe Online top tips for protecting your business from a DDoS:

• Consider the likelihood and risks to your organisation of a DDoS attack, and put appropriate threat reduction/mitigation measures in place.
• If you consider that protection is necessary, speak to a DDoS prevention specialist.
• Whether you are at risk of a DDoS attack or not, you should have the hosting facilities in place to handle large, unexpected volumes of website hits.

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) and Action Fraud have noticed a rise in the reporting of victims being recruited via Facebook to sell items for suspects on eBay – often stating that it is a quick way of making money.

The items are said to be bankrupt stock, purchased via auctions, and need to be sold on quickly. The majority of the items reported have been Apple Mac Book Pro/Electrical Items.

The victim places the items on eBay and once the items are sold, the victim will get paid and transfer the funds to the suspect/recruiter.

Once the suspect/recruiter gets the funds, the purchasers are claiming that they have received empty cereal boxes or often no goods at all, leaving the victim being reported as the actual suspect, and leaving them out of pocket as their account will be debited.

Protect yourself:

• Consider conducting research on other information provided by the seller, for example: a mobile phone number or email address could alert you to negative information associated with the number/email address online.
• Be very cautious of unsolicited emails or approaches over social media promising opportunities to make easy money.
• When accepting offers, verify the company/entity details provided to you and check whether they have been registered in the UK.
• If you think the deal or offer is too good to be true then it probably is!

If you, or anyone you know, have been affected by this fraud or any other scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk

Fraudsters are still conning elderly and vulnerable people over the phone in Dorset, which has cost local people nearly £1,100,000 since it started in 2014.

Dorset Police launched the awareness campaign Hang Up On Fraudsters in 2015 to make residents aware that criminals were claiming to be police officers or bank workers and telling people their account had been defrauded. They told victims they should call them back to clarify their identity – but in reality they kept the lines open and conned unsuspecting locals out of over a million pounds.

A similar warning about phone scams is now being issued by police. Fraudsters are currently pretending to be from a bank, stating that the account holder is due new credit or debit cards but they need the PIN for the current cards so that they can be cancelled.

The caller states the new cards will be with the customer the following day. If a victim queries the caller, the victim is told that the local branch manager will ring to confirm the authenticity. A subsequent call is made to the account holder and they confirm the previous caller’s details.

The victim then receives a further call from the offenders, asking if they have received their new cards. They obviously haven’t, so the offender states that they will send a courier to deliver the new cards and collect the old ones.

Later that day, a person will turn up at the address, stating they are a courier. They give the victim the ‘new’ cards and collect the old ones. Shortly after this transaction, fraudulent activity is recorded on the account both on-line and at local ATMs.

This year, Dorset Police has received 27 reports of phone fraud between 01 January to 25 April 2016, compared to 407 reports for the same period last year.

The victims, who are on average 79-years-old, have lost a combined total of £43,812 this year, compared to £420,500 for the same period last year: a reduction of over 90 per cent. Nine phone fraud victims have lost money to criminals, compared to 35 in 2015.

Police have received reports of this type of phone fraud from residents living in the following areas of Dorset during 2016: Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch, Ferndown, Portland and Bridport.

Detective Sergeant Garry Knight, of Bournemouth Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said: “We are pleased that there are considerably fewer victims than last year, however; we want this crime to stop completely, so that unscrupulous fraudsters don’t get away with stealing money from elderly and vulnerable people.

“Telephone fraud has traditionally been a faceless crime, but criminals are now defrauding victims over the phone before collecting their cash cards in person. This poses all kinds of risks to the individual concerned, let alone the financial losses they will incur if they are conned.

“We want people to tell their friends, family members and neighbours that they should NEVER give out bank account details, including their Personal Identification Number (PIN), over the phone.

“Nobody, no matter which organisation they claim to be from, will ask you for bank details over the phone or on your doorstep. This includes the police, banks and retailers.

“If people start asking for personal details – make you hang up, dial 1471 and note the number, then call the police immediately on 101 to report it.”

More information about telephone fraud is available at http://www.dorset.police.uk/Default.aspx?page=8318. A recording of a real telephone fraud call is available on Dorset Police’s YouTube account: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lDvlZvwZj8