How secure are your online social media accounts?
The question comes after the recent jailing of a man who hacked into two Nottingham women's Snapchat accounts to steal intimate photos.
Cyber Detective Inspector Louise Gibson, From the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), said: "This sort of invasion often happens when someone is able to guess a person's login details, whether by knowing the victim personally or by deduction based on what they can find out about them online. In other cases, like the recent incident involving the two women in Nottingham, it can be data stolen from another account owned by that person which has the same login details.
"Once stolen, personal information, including photos, are used to make money or to blackmail the victim."
Regularly check and update your security settings to protect your accounts against hackers.
use different passwords for each account you have online.
Choose strong passwords, using '3 random words'.
Avoid logging in to your account from someone else's device.
Never share login credentials with anyone else - Never save your credentials on someone else's device.
Enable two-step verification (2SV).
Delete old accounts and ensure your personal information is up-to-date on current accounts.
For details around strong passwords and 2-step verification, visit Cyber Aware - NCSC.GOV.UK.
Our cyber team has also compiled guidance, specifically around snapchat, here.