Ignite Education and Training

🚨 Remember, Remember, the 5th of November! 🚨

Today is our IT Awareness Session, organised in partnership with CLARE CIC!

It will be held on Tuesday 5 November from 12 pm to 4pm at 2 Royal Avenue, Belfast.

Welcoming anyone who is interested or concerned about being safe online.

Our tech team will be there to hold our famous FIX IT Surgeries until 3:30pm. Bring your laptop. tablet or phone and have a FREE Health Check with FREE Repairs and FREE installation of Cyber Safety Software.
Our Tech Van will be located at
the rear of 2 Royal Avenue so drop in and get your tech sorted for free.

We hope to see you there!

Need help with your phone or tablet or know someone who does?

We are teaming up with Ignite I.T. & Belfast City Council @ 2 Royal Avenue next Tuesday (November 5th) for a FREE fix-it session.

Bring your tablet or phone along to receive 1-1 support from those who know best!

Spread the word and the we'll see you there!

The CLARE CIC Team

Everyone is welcome to join us today at the "2 Royal Avenue" community venue from 1-3pm for our Information session on IT Skills training workshops which will be running throughout Belfast in the coming months. These workshops will be coming to you and there may even be a possibility of having one in your own home if travelling is not possible for you.
There is also the possibility of providing you with a free tablet and internet!

So join us today - it's free of charge! All workshops are fully funded by CLARE and Belfast City Council.

Join us next Tuesday 11th June from 1-3pm at 2 Royal Avenue Belfast for our next IT awareness session with CLARE and Belfast City Council.

We'll be setting up workshops and classes throughout Belfast which will be FREE and YOU can decide what you want them to cover.

If you'd like to sign up for some of the workshops which will be held over the next four months simply click on the link below and fill out the form and we'll get back to you. Or phone 08000 488 638 and we'll do it for you.

See you Tuesday afternoon!

CLARE Digital Skills Support Form Please click the link to complete this form.

We're delighted to have started pur project with CLARE- CIC in Belfast. CLARE stands for Creative Local Action, Resonses and Engagement and between us we've started to put together a programme of digital skills workshops for the community. We've just completed our first awareness session at 174 Trust and lots more information will be coming soon so watch this space!

Look what we've won! Delighted to be awarded "Digital Hub of the Year 2023" by the Good Things Foundation in recognition of our work in eliminating digital poverty in Northern Ireland.

A big thanks to the Team and to all who have worked with us to achieve this award!

Christmas is a time for Santa, Nativity plays, Carol Singers, Shopping ….. and scammers.

Here’s one to watch out for!

Yesterday I received a phone call from Amazon (supposedly!) telling me that someone had ordered an I-phone on my account and they were checking up to see if I had ordered it. He then offered to help by sending me a text message with a code and if I read it back to him he would cancel the order.

I was about to hang up when I decided to play along. I received the text code but I read back a different code to him. He said it didn’t work and he sent me another one. Again I read back a different code and he said it didn’t work either and would I take a third code. That’s when I asked him why he would think I would send him a code that would enable him to change my password and take control of my account. Then he hung up!

So, things to watch for:

Scammers will try to frighten you with the possibility that you are going to lose a lot of money and will use high-value items to get your attention. They want you to think they’ve got your best interests at heart and everything they say sounds reasonable and plausible.

But to get you to hand over control of your account they need your help! So what would’ve happened if I had given this person the code?

Most likely they would have used the code to gain access to my account by changing the password! Not good!

So here are a few hints to help you stay safe from this and other scams:

1. Never ever share a code that has been sent to you by text. It’s only for you to use!
2. My suspicions were alerted initially when the caller called me on a mobile phone! Amazon doesn’t do this!
3. Always be suspicious and if you feel even the slightest unease, hang up. If it’s genuine they’ll call you back. Scammers generally don’t this as they are now thinking that they may have been rumbled and will just move on to the next one!
4. Be wary of a caller asking you to confirm your personal details over the phone. You may be giving them information they don’t have but could find useful for identity fraud.
5. Don’t be complacent if a genuine-looking phone number appears on your screen, complete with the company name. This is called number spoofing and scammers can make that happen quite easily.

And to really put them off, tell them you’ll phone Amazon (or the relevant company) yourself to sort it out. This usually results in an instant disconnection! (And don’t phone the number on your phone screen - go online and find the published Customer Care number!)

For more information on scams search online for Scamwise NI where you’ll find lots of useful information.

And we're here to give you free support on 08000 488 638 as we fight to foil the scammers.

Have a Safe Online Christmas!

Our Digital Workshop Summer Schemes are booking up fast! If you are interested in finding out more watch this video or click the link below to register interest! https://form.jotform.com/igniteit/onfire

We've just been informed that we have been awarded "Centre of the Month" for January 2023 by Good Things Foundation, a great organisation that promotes digital inclusion throughout the UK. We're so pleased to have been given this honour which reflects the work and dedication of our team! Well done everyone!