BBC Learnings · Section 6

Could you be a victim of online fraud

Are you good at remembering your computer passwords, Georgina? Not really, Neil.

Level: C1 · 104 sentences

Transcript

  1. Are you good at remembering your computer passwords, Georgina?
  2. Not really, Neil.
  3. I mostly use something easy to remember,
  4. like my mother's maiden name or the street where I was born.
  5. Or the name of your first pet.
  6. Yes, me too.
  7. But we should be more careful about online security, Georgina,
  8. because of a worrying trend and the topic of this programme online fraud.
  9. Online fraud involves using the internet to trick someone
  10. into giving away their money or data.
  11. It takes many forms, from deceptive emails
  12. which trick us into paying money,
  13. to the wrong bank account, to the theft of credit card details.
  14. It's regarded by some as a highly profitable and relatively low-risk crime.
  15. So, in this programme,
  16. we'll be finding out why it's so easy for criminals
  17. or fraudsters to steal our money.
  18. And of course, we'll be learning some related vocabulary along the way.
  19. But first, it's time for our quiz question.
  20. In July 2020,
  21. nine British men were arrested for defrauding the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme,
  22. a government fund for workers who've lost their job to Covid-19.
  23. They set up fake companies and applied fraudulently for money.
  24. But how much money has been claimed in total
  25. through the coronavirus job scheme in the UK?
  26. Is it a 17 billion pounds,
  27. b 27 billion pounds, or c 37 billion pounds?
  28. It must be a lot, so I'll say a 17 billion pounds.
  29. OK, Georgina, we'll find out later.
  30. Now, Rachel Toback, CEO of Social Proof Security,
  31. is an expert in cybercrime.
  32. She describes herself as an ethical fraudster.
  33. Businesses wanting to combat fraud employ her to hack
  34. into their computer systems to find their weak spots.
  35. Here, Rachel explains to BBC World Service programme The Inquiry how getting people's information is the key to online fraud.
  36. The reason why we're able to do that from an attacker mindset is because we use what's called OSINT.
  37. open source intelligence.
  38. We look up everything about you.
  39. We can figure out who your assistant is, who your accountant is on LinkedIn.
  40. We know what emails you use from screenshots that you've put on your Instagram.
  41. Rachel looks at fraud from a criminal's mindset,
  42. someone's way of thinking and the general attitudes
  43. and opinions they have about something.
  44. From a fraudster's perspective,
  45. the most valuable thing is intelligence
  46. secret information about a government or country,
  47. or in this case a person,
  48. such as the information people unwittingly post on social media.
  49. Fraudsters use this intelligence to build up a picture
  50. of someone's online activity.
  51. And as BBC World Service The Enquiry presenter Charmaine Cozier explains,
  52. there are many ways of doing this.
  53. Fraudsters have thousands of cover stories,
  54. but the end goal is always the same
  55. to trick people out of cash or possessions.
  56. Rachel says they have options for how to do that.
  57. Login details stolen during a data breach from one company,
  58. often using software or viruses called malware,
  59. are used to infiltrate customer accounts at another.
  60. To access people's data,
  61. fraudsters use cover stories false stories told in order
  62. to hide the truth.
  63. For example, they may pretend to be calling from your bank
  64. or credit card company.
  65. If people believe these cover stories and share personal data,
  66. this can result in a data breach an occasion
  67. when private information can be seen by people
  68. who should not be able to see it.
  69. Malware computer software and viruses that are designed to damage
  70. the way a computer works can also be used
  71. to gain login details and passwords.
  72. Data which is then used to infiltrate other online accounts
  73. secretly enter a place,
  74. group or organisation in order to spy on it or influence it.
  75. Modern fraudsters are so devious at collecting online information
  76. that many victims only realise what's happened after their
  77. bank accounts have been emptied.
  78. Which I guess was the mindset behind those British
  79. fraudsters you mentioned earlier, Neil.
  80. Ah yes, the nine men who tried to defraud
  81. the coronavirus jobs retention scheme.
  82. Remember, for my quiz question,
  83. I asked you how much the scheme has paid out in total
  84. so far in the UK.
  85. I said a 17 billion pounds.
  86. Well, in fact, it's even more.
  87. The correct answer is b 27 billion pounds.
  88. Luckily, the £495,000 which these fraudsters tried to steal was recovered.
  89. Even so, Neil, I think I'm going to change my password soon.
  90. Better safe than sorry!
  91. Good idea, Georgina.
  92. In this programme, we've been hearing about the rise in online fraud,
  93. often committed when fraudsters gain intelligence
  94. secret information about a person posted on the internet.
  95. These criminals' mindset or mentality is to surreptitiously find
  96. information by creating a cover story
  97. a false story someone tells in order to hide the truth.
  98. By posing as clerks from your bank, for example,
  99. they might be able to access sensitive private information
  100. which they should not be able to see.
  101. an event sometimes called a data breach.
  102. Another way fraudsters infiltrate or gain access secretly without permission
  103. is with the use of malware computer software
  104. and viruses designed to damage the way a computer works.