Read our expert online safety advice about avoiding online Coronavirus-related scams and working safely from home during the outbreak.

Right now, safeguarding ourselves, our loved ones, friends and colleagues from COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is uppermost in people’s minds in the UK and around the world. After all, this is an unprecedented situation which warrants unprecedented precautions.

Also of great importance, however, is making sure we also remain safe in the virtual world during restrictions on travel, socialising, offi ce life and other things we normally take for granted.

Why is online safety even more important than usual?

Invariably, a crisis affecting large numbers of people triggers a huge volume of fraudulent activity. With Coronavirus, expect fake ads for anything from vaccines to facemasks, links to sensational news and video, bogus charity appeals, and phishing emails claiming to be from travel, compensation and insurance companies or event/tournament organisers. Fraudsters know that at times like these, we may be too concerned or preoccupied to spot that something isn’t right.

Business owners with employees not accustomed to working from home also need to take simple precautions additional to those we normally exercise in regular workplaces.

And if we’re using the extra time on our hands to relax, there’s also more chance that we could be letting our online guard down, whether we’re social networking, gaming, dating, downloading or the many other things we take for granted.

However Coronavirus is affecting your online life, please read our top tips to help you protect yourself, your family, finances, devices and organisation. And as always, make sure you check out our advice including passwords, payments, safe buying and updating your software and apps.

Coronavirus-related scams

Reported Coronavirus scams cost victims in the UK over £800,000 in a single month, according to Action Fraud. Here’s how to help avoid them:

• Be wary of approaches from supposed travel agents, tour operators, airlines, cruise companies, insurance companies or compensation fi rms promising to arrange travel, accommodation or event entry refunds: they may well be fraudulent. If in doubt, call the company you have been dealing with, on the phone number you know to be correct. These approaches can take the form of emails, texts, social media posts, direct messages, online advertisements and phone calls.
• Be wary of ads for products such as facemasks, hand sanitiser, vaccines, cures and hard-to-get goods, as they could be for non-existent products. Never pay by bank transfer, and where possible pay by credit card as doing so provides additional protection.
• As always, don’t click on unknown links in emails, texts or posts, or email attachments. They could link to websites that capture your passwords and other confi dential details or cause a malware infection, both of which can result in fi nancial or identity fraud. They could also link to adult, hate, extremist or other content.

Working from home