<p>As we continue our time in quarantine, and with most children now being home-schooled, screen time is on the rise for parents and children alike.</p> <p>We are now a nation that is functioning online; from shopping for essentials, home schooling the kids, keeping in shape or communicating with our loved ones - which is why it’s never been more important to pay attention to our safety and security online.</p> <p>Online scammers and cyber-criminals are more prevalent and sophisticated than ever, exploiting the current situation and using a variety of tricks that can easily fool us into visiting fake sites or opening phishing emails.<br />Keeping our customers' money and personal details secure is our priority, so we’ve created a handy guide on how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe online during this period:</p> <p> </p> <h2><strong>Be aware of phishing emails</strong></h2> <p><br />One of the most common forms of cybercrime is the creation of bogus and imitation emails, often with links claiming to have important updates. If you receive an email asking you to provide any personal security information, give your login credentials or login to a site which is not caxtonfx.com please forward the email to [email protected] and then delete it.</p> <p>Do not respond to these emails or click on any links. It is important to remember that official sources (including your bank) should never ask you to supply personal information from an email.</p> <h2><br /><br /><strong>Use strong passwords on any online accounts</strong></h2> <p><strong><br /></strong>It's easy to choose a memorable password, however, the best password is one that's impossible for anyone to guess. <br />We recommend you change your password frequently and do not use the same password for every account. <br />Your password should contain a minimum of 8 characters including at least 1 upper case letter, 1 numerical digit and 1 special character (?!£$%). This will ensure your account is as secure as possible.</p> <p> </p> <h2><strong>Never give out your personal details</strong></h2> <p><br />Be wary of anyone who asks you for your personal information, however official it may seem. We will never call or email asking your Caxton Card details, PIN of password. If you do receive a call asking for your personal details, simply end the call and notify Caxton directly.</p> <h2><br /><strong>Be vigilant on social media</strong></h2> <p><br />Stay smart when posting or interacting on social media - remember, everything you post on the internet could be public and permanent. <br />Our timelines are filled with family and friends, so they are more trusting of the content that is shared with them. Hackers often take advantage of this trust by cloning accounts and reaching out to all of the cloned account’s contacts. <br />Be skeptical of accounts or messages that seem outside of the norm, as they are likely a scam or a phishing attempt.</p> <p> </p> <h2><strong>Be aware of romance scams</strong></h2> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 236.66666666666666px;" src="https://media.caxtonfx.com/img/1100186/online-safety-fraud-travel-money.jpg?width=500&height=236.66666666666666" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/25235a2f2d5c4d75929413608de43d28" /></p> <p>Millions of people turn to online dating apps or social networking sites to meet someone, but instead of finding romance, in some cases, they may find a scammer trying to trick them into sending money. <br />The scammers create fake profiles online and strike up a relationship with their targets to build their trust, sometimes talking or chatting several times a day.<br /><br />They then make up a story and ask for money, usually via an international transfer, with prepaid cards or with gift cards because they can get cash quickly and remain anonymous.</p> <h2><br /><strong>Use store apps when shopping on mobile devices</strong></h2> <p> </p> <p>It is difficult, if not impossible, to do all of the standard safety checks you would do on a computer (checking links, checking browser connections) on a mobile device's web browser. <br /><br />The safest way to shop on a mobile device is to use the store's own app — downloaded from an authorised app store — and use your mobile phones network or a secure Wi-Fi network.</p> <h2><br /><br /><strong>Look out for bogus websites</strong></h2> <p><br />Double check the URL of the site you are visiting, especially if you arrived at through a link in an email. Caxton will never ask you to link through to a site which is not caxtonfx.com or log into your account which is not https://myaccount.caxtonfx.com/account/login. <br />You should always see this in the browser address window with a padlock icon being displayed. This confirms the page you are visiting is secure.</p> <p> </p> <h2><strong>Top 5 tips for keeping children safe on the internet<br /></strong></h2> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 235px;" src="https://media.caxtonfx.com/img/1099982/parents-kids-online-safety.jpg?width=500&height=235" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f956158ae7de4bafb66e1008a5fa7982" /></p> <p><br />Children are likely to be completely unaware of what viruses, phishing, social network bullying and online fraud is, or the harm it could potentially bring. That’s why it’s our jobs to educate them on the importance of staying vigilant online. Here’s our top tips:</p> <ol> <li>Have open discussions with them</li> <li>Set parental locks</li> <li>Check the device privacy and location settings</li> <li>Set specific time slots</li> <li>Be social-savvy yourself</li> </ol> <p>Keep your eyes peeled for our more detailed article on keeping the kids safe online.</p> <p>The internet is a wonderful place that can educate, entertain and ease us into this indoor lifestyle. However, we must stay vigilant when surfing the net, to ensure that we avoid any online scams or fraudulent activity.</p> <p> </p> <h2><strong>Keeping you safe with Strong Customer Authentication</strong></h2> <p><br />Your Caxton Card and Account is protected by an additional layer of security. When you're doing something important on your account, such as logging in, you’ll be asked to complete an extra security step, known as Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).<br /><br />Here’s how 2FA works:</p> <ol> <li>Whenever you log into your Caxton Account with your password, we’ll send a code to your mobile phone.</li> <li>You’ll be asked to enter the code to complete logging into your account.</li> </ol> <p>If you don’t use a mobile phone or you’re overseas without network coverage, you can choose to have this code sent to your account email address instead.</p> <p> </p> <p><a data-udi="umb://document/87efc9e4d69643e89d16cc17f0360317" href="/{localLink:umb://document/87efc9e4d69643e89d16cc17f0360317}" title="The best prepaid currency card and account"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 100%;" src="https://mediaumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/img/1099355/caxtoncard-promo-banner-03.png?width=500&height=125" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/6df25084aa984b97abc05767425af66b" /></span></a></p>