Police are urging residents to be vigilant of scammers trying to infiltrate computers after an South Australian resident recently fell victim to a remote access scam.
The Hills Fleurieu resident fell victim to a Telstra security phone scam, last week where the scammer encouraged the victim to download an app to his computer, which allowed the scammer to gain access to the computer.
The victim was then coerced into buying a number of gift cards and those card details and pin numbers were taken by the caller.
Scammers can be very convincing and invent seemingly legitimate reasons to make you part with your money or personal banking details.
Scammers may contact a person through emails, phone calls, text messages or letters.
Recently, many victims have deposited money into scammer accounts, believing it to be a trusted person or company and have provided their bank details for the scammer to access.
SAPOL has provided the following advice to help reduce your chances of becoming a victim of a scam:
- Always know who you are communicating with and where your information is going. If you are uncertain, confirm the contact is legitimate through methods other than what they have provided.
- Never give your personal details, passwords, credit card or online account details to a person you cannot identify in an official capacity.
- Legitimate companies, particularly financial institutions will not send emails requesting you to log on to a link – log on independently if you need to access that site.
- Never give an unsolicited person remote access to your computer. You may compromise the security of your device and your personal information.
If you think you may have been a victim of an incident, report it immediately by visiting www.cyber.gov.au/report.
Find out how to recover when things go wrong on Recover and get help | Cyber.gov.au website.
The Scam Watch website (www.scamwatch.gov.au) also has up-to-date news and alerts on scams and advice on how to best protect you and your business from scams.
