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| The BBC "Scam Secrets" series is full of useful cybersecurity advice |
For many of us, email sits at the centre of our digital lives. If someone gains access to your inbox, they may be able to reset passwords for other services, discover where you bank or shop, and learn a surprising amount about your personal and professional life.
The programme highlights some particularly worrying examples. Fraudsters have been known to monitor property transactions, waiting for the right moment to impersonate a solicitor and provide alternative bank details for a house-sale payment. Because they have access to the email account, they can potentially delete messages as well, making their activity much harder to spot.
Passwords Aren’t Enough
One of the key messages from the programme is that we need to move beyond relying solely on passwords.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) increasingly recommends stronger authentication methods, and passkeys are becoming an important part of that change. Passkeys are designed to be both easier to use and much harder for criminals to steal or trick you into revealing.
It’s also worth reviewing account recovery options. Traditional security questions such as “What was the name of your first pet?” can often be guessed, researched through social media or discovered from other compromised information.
A Few Minutes Well Spent
It’s worth taking a few minutes to check the security of your most important email accounts:
Enable multi-factor authentication if you haven’t already.
Use a passkey where your email provider supports one.
Review the recovery email addresses and phone numbers associated with your account.
Remove weak or outdated security questions where possible.
Check for unfamiliar forwarding rules or login activity.
Email security isn’t simply about protecting your messages. Your inbox can effectively be the master key to many of your other online accounts.
The BBC programme is well worth a listen:
BBC Radio 4 – Scam Secrets: The Power of Your Email
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0030yr5
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