Night at the Museum: Focus on Fraud event report
On a chilly Tuesday evening, Sheffield & District Branch members and guests entered the historic former combined Police, Fire and Ambulance Station in Sheffield City Centre, which is now the National Emergency Services Museum.
What better place to have Focused on Fraud than in a building, which has no doubt played host to fraudsters of yesteryear, in the Police cells within?
Upon arrival, members and guests crossed the cobbled courtyard and climbed the age-old worn stone steps to the first-floor gallery where they were greeted by committee members and enjoyed a delicious “Made in Sheffield” buffet supper and networking. Soon after, Chair, Jamie Thornton welcomed everyone and asked that, should the fire alarm ring, no-one use the fireman’s pole to exit the building.
Jamie then introduced our first speaker of the evening – DS Phil Butterworth of South Yorkshire Police Digital Investigations and Intelligence Unit.
Sargent Butterworth gave a brief introduction, explaining his role in the force and then talked us through the Top 5 hacking topics:
- Social Media Hacking
- Virus Hacking
- Personal Hacking
- Extortion Hacking
- Service Hacking
We should all consider just how safe our information really is, and how much it is worth to others. There was great discussion on the best ways we can secure ourselves and businesses from fraud.
The presentation moved on the looking at two case studies, making us aware of some useful websites and services and ended with a few words on the unregulated world of Crypto currencies. Many questions were asked by members throughout the presentation, which were very informative… if not a little alarming at times!
A short break followed and Jamie Thornton introduced our second speaker for the evening – Darren Hodder of Fraud Prevention Network. Darren introduced himself and talked to us about the collaborative nature of the Fraud Prevention Network. We looked at Authorised Push Payment Fraud and its frightening year on year growth, as well as the financial consequences of weak passwords.
Darren covered the current fraud trends and gave some useful tips for us to take back to the office. Members and guests shared their own experiences of attempted fraud, one of which was even new to Darren! We all agreed on the importance of continuing to report fraud and attempted fraud and that fraud seems to be the fastest growing industry.
A most enjoyable “Night at the Museum” was had by all. Many thanks to DS Butterworth and Darren Hodder for their valuable time and excellent presentations and thanks to all attending members and guests for making the evening a great success. Make sure to keep an eye open on more upcoming events on the CICM Website, here.
Author: Paula Uttley, Vice Chair of Sheffield & District Branch.
