Cybercriminals are spoofing Australian mobile numbers and pretending to be from an Australian Government agency, delivery company or business, manipulating the individual to gain access to their device.
Alert status HIGH
What’s happened? When a scammer rings Sandi Tarrant and says the Police are on the way to arrest her unless she pushes a number on her phone you know there is going to be trouble! Fortunately, Sandi just hung up and did nothing apart from having a quiet heart attack that she had done something wrong. Hanging up immediately is the best way to protect yourself in this situation. Generally, they will not ring back, but occasionally they might. If they do, still just hang up and block their number. This and many other scams have been going on a lot lately and it is time to become familiar with some of the types of scams around.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Scamwatch have received an increased number of reports in the last five days of remote access scams. Members of the public have reported receiving calls from cybercriminals pretending to be from telecommunication companies, government agencies including the Department of Home Affairs, and parcel delivery companies.
A majority of the calls have been reported by people living in areas that have been locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting cybercriminals may be preying on people who are more vulnerable, housebound and easy to contact.
Where victims have handed over personal details, the cyber criminals are then using legitimate remote access applications, like Team Viewer or Zoho Assist, to gain access to people’s devices. They then log into your bank account and online accounts, and steal your details for financial gain.
Does it affect me?
Cybercriminals are cold calling people, so anyone can receive one of these calls, regardless of whether you have any usual dealings with the business being impersonated.
Cybercriminals are cold calling people, so anyone can receive one of these calls, regardless of whether you have any usual dealings with the business being impersonated.
