The scams are hitting Lithgow really hard! 4 victims that I know of in the last 30 days. Some have lost as much as $20K. I study scams and disinformation. I actually record scammers to analyse the methods they use to convince you to give them access to your computer or mobile device.
The best way to protect yourself is to repeat after me!
F#%K OFF!
If you get a message from someone who says they are from Amazon and they ask to remote into your computer you say F#%K OFF!
(Amazon does not care enough to call you )
If someone calls to say your computer has a virus and they need to remote into your computer you say F#%K OFF!
(Nobody can tell if your computer has a virus remotely …. Trust me on this one)
If the ATO calls you and says they are going to put you in jail because of back taxes and they need you to download a program you say F#%K OFF!
(ATO or AFP will not call to warn you of an arrest ..they will just arrest you)
If someone who has a clear Aussie accent calls and asks you to download some software you say F#%K OFF!
(Just because someone does not sound like they are from overseas does not make them honest)
If some tech support person is all of a sudden rude to you! You say F#%K OFF!
(No tech support person would ever be rude as that can get them instantly fired)
If your bank calls to warn you of some strange transaction and they need to access your computer you say F#%K OFF!
(Banks do not need remote access they can control your account from their desk)
If the NBN calls and says they need to reset your router for better speed you say F#%K OFF!
(Modems do not need remote access to be reset)
If Telstra calls to say you have been hacked say F#%K OFF!
(The whole point of hacking is to be sneaky Telstra can’t tell if you have been hacked or not)
I chose this crude phrasing to get your attention! Maybe if this gave you a giggle you might avoid losing a lot of money!
If it was real they would never ask for remote access.
The other day I got a call from the government because of some forms that I needed to fill out. They started to ask all kinds of personal questions to verify who I was. I told them that I was not going to give out that information over the phone. While I was polite to this person they totally understood and asked me to go to the government website in question and call the number listed.
Tell your friends and family remote access is a scam!
I have been in tech support for over 20 years. While remote access sounds like a good idea I refuse to use it in my business. I will drive to your house to fix the issue even with these gas prices before I will use remote access. The whole point of this is to not allow my clients to get used to the idea of allowing someone to access their computer remotely NOT EVEN ME!
If you know someone who is maybe fooled into being a phone scam victim consider having them take one of my classes. Many seniors assume that the scam works because of technology however this kind of scam is over 300 years old. I have ways of explaining how the scam works in ways that have nothing to do with tech.