While remote access tools have been around for years to help IT support personnel in their work, scammers are also taking advantage of the ability to remotely access people’s computers or smart phones. Once the scammer has control of your computer or device, they will ask you to log into applications such as emails, internet banking or PayPal accounts, which will allow the scammer to access your banking and personal information to impersonate you or steal their money.
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They will tell you to download remote control software such as AnyDesk or TeamViewer. The scammer will pretend to assist you or ask you to assist them to catch the scammer. Sometimes they start with an SMS, email or pop up on a screen from a scammer seeking urgent contact to fix a problem. Scams of this nature will often be an unexpected phone call saying you’ve been billed for a purchase you didn’t make, your device has been compromised, or your account has been hacked. Young people reported losing on average $20,000 and eight Indigenous Australians, some in remote communities, lost a total of $38,000.” People aged 55 and older lost over $4.4 million, accounting for almost half of total losses. “These types of scams target and impact all people and can be convincing. Scammers take advantage of the digital world and the fear of fraud and cybercrime to access people’s devices and steal their money,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said. “Remote access scams are one of the largest growing scam types in Australia. They create a sense of urgency to make you give them access to your computer via remote access software.
So far this year scammers have stolen more than $7.2 million from Australians by gaining access to home computers, an increase of 184 per cent compared to the same period last year.Īccording to the ACCC’s Scamwatch, almost 6,500 Australians have reported phone calls from scammers trying to convince them to download software that gives access to home computers and their bank accounts.Ĭommonly called remote access scams, scammers pretend to be from well-known organisations such as Telstra, eBay, NBN Co, Amazon, banks, government organisations, police, and computer and IT support organisations. About Scamwatch Expand submenu for "About Scamwatch".News & alerts Expand submenu for "News & alerts".Scam statistics Expand submenu for "Scam statistics".Attempts to gain your personal information.Types of scams Expand submenu for "Types of scams".