Scams and staying safe online: a free talk for village halls and clubs

I give an hour's talk on scams and staying safe online, free, to any village hall, club, church group, WI, U3A or lunch club that will have me. The first one is being arranged in a village near Thornton-le-Dale; dates will appear here when they are fixed.

What it covers

• The call from "the police" or "the bank": how it works, why it is convincing, and the one rule that beats it.
• The text about a parcel, a toll or a tax refund, and what happens when you tap the link.
• The friend or grandchild on WhatsApp with a new number.
• Passwords: why one good one with a second check beats twenty bad ones, and how to do that on a phone without a degree.
• What to do in the first ten minutes if it has happened to you or someone you love.
• Questions, for as long as people have them. The questions are the best part.

What it is not. It is not a sales pitch; nothing is for sale and I take no fee. It is not technical; if you can use a phone you can follow it. And it is not frightening, or it tries not to be. The point is that these tricks are old, there are only a handful of them, and once you have seen how they work you will spot the next one.

What I need from the venue: a room, chairs, and ideally a screen or a blank wall for a few slides. Forty-five minutes to an hour, plus questions. I bring everything else.

To ask for a date, use the contact page and say where, roughly when, and how many people. I will come to anywhere within reach of the Moors.

Dates