Thu. Jul 31st, 2025

How to ensure you stay cyber-safe in 2025



In light of growing consumer concerns around mobile security, we have put together four ways to stay cyber-safe in conjunction with SIM-only provider spusu.

These days, we do just about everything on our phones — banking, shopping, booking holidays, even turning the heating on. But as our lives become more mobile-centric, fraudsters are following close behind. Below we look at how mobile users stay vigilant so they are able to spot the latest scams.

  1. Stay alert to phishing and smishing

One of the most common mobile scams is phishing — deceptive emails, texts or calls designed to manipulate you into revealing personal details. These forms of communication often look surprisingly legitimate, by mimicking trusted brands, banks or even your mobile provider with convincing logos and language.

Typical scenarios can include ‘Your account has been compromised”, “Click here to reset your password”, or “We noticed unusual activity. Please verify your identity immediately”.

Smishing is a type of phishing scam that happens via SMS text messages. These attempts will often send links asking you to “verify your account” or “track a package”. Don’t click on suspicious links, even if the message looks official.

A good rule of thumb? If something feels urgent or a bit off, it’s probably a scam. To be certain, always contact the company directly from their official website or app, and never click the link or respond to the text or email. No reputable company will ask for passwords, PINs or two-factor authentication codes out of the blue.

  1. Watch out for WhatsApp cons

According to Lloyds Bank, WhatsApp scams are now the fastest growing form of impersonation fraud. The WhatsApp verification code scam begins with a user receiving an unexpected six-digit verification code — the same code used to log in to WhatsApp from a new device.

Shortly afterwards, the user may receive a message from a ‘friend’ claiming they mistakenly sent their code to the wrong number and requesting it be forwarded. In reality, the code belongs to the original user and sharing it allows the scammer to gain full access to their WhatsApp account.

Once compromised, the attacker can impersonate the user to defraud others in their contact list. To protect yourself, never share verification codes with anyone, and enable two-step verification in your WhatsApp settings to add an extra layer of security.

  1. Lock down passwords

Using the same password for more than one account makes your details vulnerable to a method called credential stuffing. Hackers take email and password combinations leaked in past breaches and test them on popular platforms such as Gmail, Outlook and Apple.

If that same password also works for your email, a hacker can quietly log in, read your messages, forward them on and start resetting logins for your social media, banking and possibly your email. To avoid this, ensure passwords are always different and recorded securely. Using pass phrases instead of passwords further enhance security, as they are more complex and harder to break.

  1. Don’t ignore updates — they’re your phone’s best defence

Those “Update now?” messages always pop up at the worst times. But hitting “remind me later” again and again can leave your phone wide open to attacks. Software updates aren’t just about new features or improved performance — they often include important security improvements that fix vulnerabilities hackers could use to access your device.

Of course, keeping your phone up to date does not create an impenetrable barrier from hackers, but it’s better than nothing. To make updating easier, enable automatic updates if your device supports it.

This way, your phone and apps will update in the background, so you don’t have to remember to do it manually. Restarting the device after the update ensures all patches are properly applied.

It can be easy to forget how much personal information we’re carrying in our pockets. By staying alert to suspicious messages, using strong and unique passwords and keeping software up to date, you can make it much harder for scammers to get in — and much easier to stay safe.

www.spusu.co.uk


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