Freshers Beware of The Facebook Fraudsters

This article was originally written for my University's newspaper but they ran out of space and it couldn't be submitted. I thought instead of wasting it, it would be a good idea to add it to my blog for the benefit of freshers. Enjoy!

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Coming to University for the first time can be an incredibly daunting experience. There is so much going on around you - names to remember, fancy dress outfits to buy and god know’s what else - that you begin to forget the important things, like security.

Before I’d even arrived at University, it seemed everybody was adding as many fellow first years from Uni as possible, so you could discuss online about the freshers events you wanted to go to, how many pots and pans you were bringing, and if you were nervous, scared or excited. Most students can probably relate to this, knowing that for the majority of the time, you will never end up meeting half of these people face to face. 

But in the midst of a Facebook-friend-adding frenzy, it is vital to be wary about how much personal information you share on your facebook profile. Internet scams can hit students like a bomb, especially during freshers week, and social networking is an extremely easy way to gain access to bank accounts, student finance accounts and more.

The Student Loans Company recently conducted a study on 1100 university applicants from across England, investigating how much information they share on their profiles, and their feelings towards Facebook-exclusive friendships (i.e. people you only know through Facebook).

The study found that 56% of freshers who about to begin University this year will add most of the new people they meet as their friend on Facebook, while a third would give their phone number to most other students at the same Uni as them. It was also uncovered that the majority had only met 51% of their Facebook friends; despite the fact they had included several important and personal details to their profile for all their “friends” to see. In addition, males were found to be at a higher risk of student finance fraud than females, because they are more likely to accept anyone as a friend and make their profile visible to the public.

More than half of the students interviewed had displayed their relationship status and date of birth to their profile, while 41% shared their email address and 14% included their phone number. It is these types of info which can be used to a fraudster’s advantage, so it is certainly worth removing these details off your Facebook page, particularly during the first year of Uni.

Fraud manager at The Student Loans Company, Heather Laing, commented that freshers students are more vulnerable to ‘phishing’ operations because they are often managing their finances for the first time. The scams tend to work using the details they can easily find on most facebook profiles. They will then pose as The Student Loans Company to attain more details, before eventually gaining access to your money. While loan phishing and scamming is monitored very closely, it is still a big threat to all first year students, usually targeted at the three installment dates for student loans – September, January and April.

It’s extremely important to remember that you will never be asked by The Student Loans Company to update or verify your bank details, date of birth, account numbers or passwords. You will never be asked to provide combinations (e.g. your reference number and your password) on the same screen. You will never be given a choice of a secret question – only the question you gave an answer to when you first applied.

Here are some top tips to staying safe:

• Create a strong password with mixed letters, numbers and symbols for your online accounts and ensure to update passwords regularly. Avoid using the same password for different websites.
• Beware of how much information you include in your profile. Addresses, mobile numbers, dates of birth and email addresses are all ways of gaining access to your important accounts, so limit how much you post about yourself.
• Beware of who you friend. 'Phishers' can easily take personal information from your Facebook page and social bots can use friend requests to hack your network.
• Stay updated with your social network’s security and privacy settings. Sometimes when a website changes its privacy policy, your profile can become more exposed to the public than it had been previously.

Inspired by an article in The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/sep/17/freshers-students

September

Right, I have a bit of a situation. I sat down in front of my laptop to do a new blog post on Thursday evening,  typing whatever came into my head, quite like a stream of consciousness (any psychologist would actually have a field day analysing my brain), hoping that something amazing would come out. But nothing did.

I've now hit the point when I've ran out of things to discuss and I'm not really sure what to do about it. I'm sure I would if I got out of the house and did something spectacular - break a world record or climb a mountain, something like that. But sadly I don't really have the time, or motivation. Because I am a lazy git.

However, I would like to send a little message out there to say thank you to everyone who has been reading my blog and giving me feedback that I was not expecting at all - it's been really lovely to hear that people are actually enjoying reading the rubbish I have been coming out with. As some have read in my post 'Chatalie the Natabox' from a while back, I was absolutely terrified about blogging publicly because I was afraid of the response that I'd get (even found the guts to add a link to my blog on Facebook the other day - ahhhh). Fortunately, you have all been gems and made me feel a lot more confident about carrying on with this. So thank you very much!

Anyway to wrap it up, just to say thanks again and hope you continue to enjoy reading. I've really started to love writing on here. Initially I did see it as something to use to build up my writing portfolio from a professional point of view, but it's become really fun and hopefully it continues to be! Anything you think I should be writing about or you'd like to see me write about (sensible suggestions please...), just leave a comment at the bottom and I'll try and include it. 

Happy September! Have a good one.

Nats. X

What makes an artist an artist?

Setting apart a performer from an artist in the world of music is as pointless as debating which came first, the chicken or the egg.  The simple answer is, we don't know, and never will, because ultimately what makes an artist an artist is completely down to interpretation.  However, that shouldn't prevent us from giving it the consideration it deserves.

The inspiration for this questionable matter was sparked from an article published by NME, which the majority have probably already read, (if you haven't, read the article here).  The piece reported on a comment made by a member of The Vaccines, the indie rock band who stormed into the UK music industry last year with their debut album, 'What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?'. Freddie Cowan, the band's guitarist, conveyed that pop princess Rihanna is not a real artist because she does not write her own music.

Cowan remarked, "she has 15 writers, 15 songwriters and 15 producers all fighting for space on her albums and she's the face of it."  And in retrospect, this is true. Rihanna's huge international success has quickly sent her to becoming one of the biggest popstars on the planet, but her journey to stardom may not have been so starry without the team of individuals who went leaps and bounds to secure Rihanna's fast ticket to fame.

Nonetheless, does this stop her from being categorised as an "artist"?  In one way, yes.  An artist is defined by their level of creativity and passion, their ability to express their emotions and experiences through the lyrics in their music. Consequently, if a musician were to use the creativity and passion of a songwriter rather than their own, this merely makes them a performer.  In the same way that reading aloud a poem written by somebody else does not make you a poet, singing a song written by somebody else does not make you an artist.

On review, it would seem as though Freddie Cowan has a point.  Then again, his further comment of "I have nothing against it, but I don't want to be associated with it" leads me to question at which point musicians not writing their own music became so repudiating.  Do we lose any respect for Rihanna for not writing all her own material?  While some may say yes, I don't think we do.  After all, there are a number of singers from the past who, like Rihanna, were the faces of songs which they didn't write themselves and are still considered to be legends of the music industry in the 21st Century.  The most well-known hits of the brilliant Frank Sinatra were written by professional songwriters, notably "My Way", "Come Fly With Me", "That's Life", and "I've Got You Under My Skin" were among these.  Welsh superstar Sir Tom Jones did not start writing his own music until he was 62; such tracks as "What's New Pussycat?", "It's Not Unusual" and "She's a Lady" are considered to be the largest successes of Jones' career, yet were not actually written by the singer himself.   Aretha Franklin's massive hit "Respect" was in fact a track written by Otis Redding (subsequently inspiring Franklin to begin writing her own music), yet respect is certainly not something we lose for this highly talented performer just because the song was written by someone else.

Even the king of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley, had the majority of his songs written for him.  In fact, it was stated by Mick Jagger that Elvis was "a unique artist...an original in area of imitators."  And there's no doubting that Elvis was original.  He introduced a fresh, new and quirky style of music to the ears of several generations, something nobody had ever heard before and ever will again. Thus, it seems Elvis was an artist, but perhaps an artist of his genre rather than an artist of the music.

These world famous singers were and still are adored and loved by so many, regardless of whether wrote their own music or not.  It is questionable, therefore, as to why the same attitude cannot be applied to the singers and performers of the modern age.  Perhaps, it is the sheer difference in musical and historical eras which set the two apart.  For Elvis, Franklin and Sinatra, the music world was a different place to the way it is now.  The competition has since grown in ferocity, and a singer must fight for longer and harder to attain their own little bit of spotlight.  If songwriting is what defines an artist, diversifying a performer aside from others, then that is what they will do to prove that they are distinctive, new and one-of-a-kind.

It is also hugely significant to contemplate where the songwriting industry would be without a need for songwriters.  There are a vast number of people in the world who have an exceptional talent and gift in writing music, but do not possess the vocal ability to perform the songs themselves.  Singers and songwriters heartily rely on each other - often, neither can gain success without the other one.

When all is said and done, we can probably assume that Freddie Cowan's comment about Rihanna's lack of songwriting credit was evoked by a want for publicity, along with a supplementary inkling of the green-eyed monster.  Maybe if The Vaccines concentrated on their own music rather than denigrating other performers, they might actually have a chance at producing material more worthy of attention.

Dedicated to Tinkerbell

If you own a pet, you're obviously aware of how significant they are to you and your life; particularly if they have been there for what seems like forever. Even though they're quite often off exploring and doing their own thing, their presence is monumental, life isn't quite right without them, you'd always feel like there is something missing.

I myself have never had a proper pet - the furthest I got was a goldfish which I had for roughly 5 years before it died and was flushed down the toilet. But in spite of my inexperience I know that the relationship a person and a pet share is like no other - it is unique in every instance and nothing is remotely close to it, nothing can replace it. So when that relationship is lost, when that bond is broken, or when that thread tying the two of you together snaps, it is unfathomable to understand how that must feel.

And while people may say, "It was only a dog", "It was only a cat", "It was only a rabbit", you have to remember that they are the ones that simply don't get it. They don't understand it like you do. A pet is a family member, so losing someone that you have loved, nurtured and watched grow from strength to strength, is like losing a small part of yourself. You made the life that they lived special - to experience the loss of that life is incomprehensible.

I've written this blog post because very recently, my best friend lost her best girl. Tinkerbell was totally one of a kind, a friend, and a part of a family whom she meant the absolute world to. She was a little comedienne, always making people laugh and smile. She'd always appear at the back door at the sound of the fruit jar being opened, knowing that the food was for her, and if even if wasn't she'd make sure at least some of it was. She loved playing in the snow and you could always see where she'd been as the garden would be covered in her little paw prints. And I'll never forget my favourite story of her making her way from the garden through to the living room, placing herself in front of the telly and watching Deal or No Deal - she was a big Noel Edmonds fan. (but then who isn't?).

While it's unfortunate that I cannot appreciate the unique friendship than an owner and pet share, I know for a fact that Tinkerbell was deeply loved and reciprocated her love back to those who took care of her, nursed her and adored her. Tinkerbell made us laugh with all her antics, her funny little ways, and her enormous love for food. Now she can finally be at peace, enjoying a good rest after her long and happy life.

Rest in peace Tinks, thanks for the memories. xxx