From Neighbourhood to Cyberhood
Cybercrime now feels like more of a threat than physical crime for a rising number of households across England and Wales, with more people either falling victim personally or knowing someone who has been a victim of online theft. According to research carried out in conjunction with Avast, a leading cybersecurity company in the UK, we found that those who believe cybercrime is less of a threat than physical crime are firmly in the minority (14%). Find out more about our research
Avast believe in making the world a safer place by preventing cybercriminals from harming those in our society who are at risk of falling victim. It is their mission to provide people with the information and tools they need to stay safe online so that together we can create a world where everyone feels protected from cybercrime, no matter who they are, where they are or how they connect to the internet.
Neighbourhood Watch shares these values, which is why we’ve joined forces to create Cyberhood Watch. This initiative is aimed at helping people understand how to protect themselves online and feel confident using the internet. Our joint goal is to prevent cybercriminals from exploiting unsuspecting people with scams and malicious campaigns to commit fraud, steal personal information and spread computer viruses throughout our local communities in the UK.
Over a third of Neighbourhood Watch members have told us they believe cybercrime is more of a threat today than physical crime, and over half see the threat level as similar. For this reason, the cornerstone of our partnership is cybercrime prevention. To achieve this, we will provide Neighbourhood Watch members with information, advice and practical tips based on Avast’s 30+ years of cybersecurity experience that will help protect them and their communities from cyber harms.
Read more about our joint initiative with Avast.
Download our toolkits:
- How to download your data from Facebook on Mac or PC
- How to change your privacy settings on Instagram
- What is social engineering and how to protect yourself?
- What is a VPN and how does it work?
- Protect your family online: the cyber-savvy parent
- Cookies: the good, the bad and the ugly
- What are password managers and how do they work?
More Cyberhood Watch advice here
Useful resources
- Cyber Aware - general advice on how to stay secure online from the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre
- Phishing - spot and report scam emails, texts, websites and calls
- Support to young people - activities for parents/carers to use with young people at home (see ‘The Game’ and ‘Home Activities’)
- Infographics to print and keep on hand
- NCSC Guidance for Individuals and Families: - a very comprehensive guide that includes what is cybersecurity, dealing with common cyber problems, data breaches, buying and selling second-hand devices and more
- Have I been pwned? - check if your email address has been compromised
- Random Password Generator - automatically generate unique passwords for all of your online accounts
- No more ransom - learn more about ransomware