Islanders warned of heightened threat to personal data amid global IT outage

The Office of the Data Protection Authority is warning islanders to be vigilant of several active threats targeting organisations and individuals in the Bailiwick.

Fraudsters have been telephoning people, posing as representatives of a bank (as well as other organisations) and asking them to access a website that contains malicious software.

When downloaded, this malware allows the fraudster to remotely access the victim’s device, potentially gaining access to their personal information.

If you receive an unexpected call – no matter how credible it sounds – hang up and contact the alleged caller using a trusted means of communication (for example, a number that you have obtained from the company’s website or telephone directory).

If you believe that your business has been affected, contact your IT support immediately. If you are an individual who has fallen victim to such a scam, we would advise you to disconnect your devices from the internet before running anti-virus scans.

This warning comes as a software defect has caused worldwide IT chaos, resulting in the unavailability of personal data across the globe.

Given that islanders are already receiving ‘vishing’ calls, we would ask people to be particularly cautious as scammers may try to exploit the incident.