For business owners and consumers concerned about scams and fraud facilitated by identity theft, there is new guidance from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service to safeguard online transactions over the busy holiday season.
Public Information Officer for the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, Inspector Michelle Lewis, made note of two instances where false sites were created for popular financial institutions, and advocated for “double-checking for authenticity before clicking.”
“So, we want persons to pay particular attention to the email, the website to ensure that it is actually authentic because sometimes it’s just one letter different, but you have to pay attention. And sometimes when you see the deal, you get super excited and not do that double checking and triple checking to make sure. So, one of the first things that you have to do is look at the information that they are sending before you click that link where you can share your information. Share your information, meaning your full name, your email address. They may ask you for banking information, that kind of thing.”
Inspector Lewis confirmed that this is precisely the kind of information abused for identity and money theft.
However, beyond being mindful of what we share online, she said we must be careful which channels we use.
“So, it’s very easy through public Wi-Fi service, where hackers can, there’s a system that they use, where, once it’s general, they are able to get your information with no trace of it being taken or who would have taken or stolen your identity.”
Speaking in the Senate on Friday, Minister of National Security, Fitzgerald Hinds, detailed the various steps the TTPS Cybercrime Unit has taken to moderate the recent phishing attacks involving our financial institutions and personal accounts.
“The steps taken so far by the Cybercrime Unit of the Police Service are public awareness campaigns, educating the public about the dangers of phishing scams and how to recognise them. Secondly, enhanced monitoring, increasing surveillance on online activities to detect and respond to phishing attempts more quickly; collaboration with financial institutions, working closely with banks to identify and shut down fake websites and fraudulent activities.”
In addition to these measures, Inspector Lewis shared another personal safeguard: to observe whether a web address starts with HTTP or HTTPS – HTTPS being the secure version of HTTP, which encrypts and secures online data transfer.
Inspector Lewis advised citizens to contact their banking institutions and the TTPS Fraud Squad as soon as they notice any suspicious activity on their account.