Daily Safeguarding Update

Facebook and Instagram users urged to change passwords after security breach

Facebook and Instagram users are being warned to change their passwords following a recent security breach.
Thousands of passwords were reportedly stolen.
Meta has warned that users on both platforms could have been victims of a “phishing” attack, which aims to steal information such as passwords by providing a fake login page.
Users have been advised of potential phishing emails asking them to login.
To protect themselves, users should not log into any meta services via email links.
Meta says that they believe one phishing scheme, last year, involved creating more than 39,000 fake sites.
Full story, here.

The suicide prevention charity, Samaritans, is trailing an online chat service to offer support to those struggling during the pandemic.
The support will be offered by students and staff at Anglia Ruskin University.
The pilot will train volunteers and students on mental health nursing, paramedic science and social work courses to join professional placements within the charity.
The online chat aims to give those who prefer communicating digitally a way of reaching out to support pathways.
Full story, here.

Images of recovered knives shared on social media by police forces may be an ‘intelligence source’ for young people who live in areas with high levels of knife crime.
After seeing the images, young people may carry more dangerous weapons than those depicted to protect themselves.
It comes following the worst year on record for teenage homicides in London, with 30 killings taking place in 2021.
Thames Valley and South Yorkshire police have already stopped sharing images of seized knives on social media due to the harmful effects of these images.
The Metropolitan Police regularly share recovered knife images online, with more than 2,000 images shared online in a 12–month period.
Full story, here.

Oak National Academy, a government-backed virtual school, has seen a rise in pupils using online lessons this term due to the Omicron variant.
Last week, the virtual school’s user figure was 340,000 – the highest level since schools returned in March 2021.
As well as pupils using the virtual school while off ill or self-isolating, schools have also used the online resources to cover lessons due to teacher absences.
This follows as schools face high levels of staff absence due to Covid-19.
Full story, here.