Hackers can target your mobile phone – so keep your guard up says Computer Troubleshooters

  by Suzanne Rice 

AS April marks the start of the new tax year, it can be expected that you could receive a communication from HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs). Unfortunately, the cybercriminals are well-aware of this fact, and will exploit this anniversary to catch us off our guard.

Back in 2016 we at Computer Troubleshooters wrote a guide on how to spot a dodgy tax email You can check out our blog https://computertroubleshooters.co.uk/tonbridge/commentary/new-tax-year-watch-rogue-emails/.

BEWARE: Treat any message you receive like this with caution.

It now transpires that your phishing worries do not stop when you turn off your computer.  My colleague received a seemingly innocuous text message claiming to be from ‘HMRC’.

PLEASE don’t click on the link if you receive such an unsolicited text. It could unleash malware with dire consequences onto your mobile device.

Fortunately, at Computer Troubleshooters we have ways and means of viewing links in a safe environment. When we viewed this suspicious message it led us to what looked like a ‘government’ website requesting we put in a date of birth and National Insurance Number to continue. This is a classic way for someone to gain personal identity data which is of great value to hackers.

DOUBLE TAKE: This website looks very much like the real thing.

You can see from the screen print that the website looks quite authentic at first glance. The font matches government sites, and there is even an official-looking insignia at the bottom.

The moral of this story: every form of communication is vulnerable to cyber-attack.

Don’t assume that messages to your private mobile number are safe.  Always take a moment to double-check before you click a link.  If in doubt, use a different medium to check with the sender.

At Computer Troubleshooters, we implement measures to protect our business customers from hackers, detecting malware before it hits your systems and educating your users to raise their guard.  We’re happy to review your company’s IT setup and security arrangements – give us a call.

Computer Troubleshooters

01732 300064 

ct-tonbridge.co.uk