Scanning for scams

A new app tackles the fraud epidemic infecting our digital communications.

- BY PETER GRIFFIN

In case you missed the memo, we are in the midst of cybersecurity awareness month - your annual opportunity to ponder why you still use the same password for every online service and can't be bothered paying for antivirus software.

As the late Nigel Latta told me a couple of years back after he'd made a documentary about online scammers, we are our own worst enemy when it comes to cybercrime: “95% of it relies on us doing something,” he said. “If we click on the link, if we give over our personal information because the person on the phone sounds convincing and they say they’re from the bank, then at some point, you know, there is a personal responsibility in the stuff.”

He was right. But there was a time when scams were easier to spot - the badly written requests for urgent wire transfers or the dodgy-looking web address masquerading as your bank's landing page.