9th December, 2021

They say that everything happens for a reason. When it comes to cybercrime, this seems to be an accurate statement. Criminals will target individuals with a very specific reason in mind: steal their money and their personal data. In order to do so, they look for any weak points of entry that they can use to implement their scams and extortion plans. One of the solutions to this threat lies within the field of crime prevention – the more aware individuals are of potential cyber scams, the more prepared and secure they can be.

An essential way to boost awareness is to make sure that the public stays up to date with any new tricks that criminals might have up their sleeves. In order to address this, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) and the European Banking Federation (EBF) have launched Cyber Scams 2.0, a reviewed and updated version of the 2018 Cyber Scams campaign. Over the next two weeks, the new materials, available in eight languages, will be promoted on social media channels by national law enforcement agencies (LEAs), banking associations and other cybercrime fighters.

Some of the Cyber Scams materials added to the campaign include:

-          Tech support scams

-          Updated Vishing advice

-          ID theft methods

In addition, the campaign is also raising awareness on SIM swapping, emphasizing the importance of identifying and reporting any such attempts.

Cyber Scams 2.0 is an excellent example of public-private cooperation, with EU’s banks and law enforcement agencies coming together to help build a more cyber-resilient society. The initiative was launched as part of EBF’s #DigitalThursdays event, against the backdrop of October’s European Cybersecurity Month , the EU’s annual campaign dedicated to promoting cybersecurity.