Shemas.lv campaign - cybersecurity test and resources for citizens in Latvia
Shemas.lv is a public education initiative designed to help citizens protect themselves from various fraudulent schemes on the Internet and reduce the amount of fraudulent funds in Latvia. With an increasing number of financial fraud cases, the campaign aims to show citizens how to recognise fraudsters' tactics and give practical advice on how to deal with them.
The Shemas.lv campaign is designed to give citizens practical tools for everyday safety. On this page, citizens will be able to find a variety of resources both to test themselves and to supplement their knowledge:
- Cybersecurity test – an interactive self-assessment tool that allows people to check how well they are able to recognise commonly used fraud techniques, such as phone calls, fake emails, fake investment offers or romantic scams. The test provides immediate feedback and shows where more attention is needed.
- Examples of schemes – these explain how to recognise fraudster schemes, how to correctly identify suspicious situations, what actions to take in case of doubt about a received call or email, and how to report fraud correctly to the police.
- Practical tips – short, concrete and easy-to-understand recommendations on how to take action to protect yourself. These materials are specifically designed to reach out to the general public, including people with lower digital skills, seniors, parents of children and businesses.
- Educational material – the Cybersecurity Roadmap, which is a collection of links and recommendations to seek further assistance, including contact details of the State Police, roadmaps for safe use of the Internet and guidelines prepared by other institutions.
The choice of language and image is particularly important in this campaign. It uses widely-recognised and popular movie characters, referencing a famous cinema work,, to present complex cybersecurity issues in a simple and understandable way for everyone. Thus, the campaign specifically targets those Latvian citizens who are most exposed to fraudulent schemes: seniors, people with lower digital skills or those who do not actively use technology on a daily basis.
Why is this a good practice?
The Shemas.lv campaign is considered an example of good practice, as it presents the complex topic of cybersecurity in a simple, understandable and humorous way. Using popular film characters and references to a popular cinematographic work, complex and often frightening situations are turned into an easy-to-understand story that appeals to the general public. This approach helps in particular those most prone to fraud – seniors and people with lower digital skills. The campaign’s informative supporters have also been selected to better reach people who are not actively using digital tools on a daily basis.
The campaign not only attracts attention through creative and attractive communication, but also provides practical added value in the form of a cybersecurity test and resources that help people assess their level of knowledge and learn the principles of safe behaviour. Thus, humor and creative characters combine with practical advice, promoting public awareness of cyber security and helping to reduce the number of fraud cases in Latvia.
The Cybersecurity Campaign is organised by the ECCC National Coordination Center of the Ministry of Defence and CERT.LV. In turn, the campaign is supported by information: drossinternets.lv, Finance Latvia Association, Latvijas Pasts, Narvesen, LMT and NESTE. The campaign is co-financed by the European Union.
