According to ScamWatch, from January to September of 2022, Remote Access Scams were the 5th most commonly reported scam type in Australia and cost citizens more than $18.7 million.
In a remote access scam, otherwise known as a technical support scam, a fraudster will contact a target via email, phone, or SMS, claiming to be from a well-known company (often banks, government agencies, telcos, or technology companies such as Amazon) or technical service support provider. Typically, the scammer will give a fake but believable story to convince you that they need to access your computer remotely but are actually looking to steal your personal information and money.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre states that common examples of remote access scams include:
- Someone calls you saying they're from a well-known business or organisation. Organisations often used for this type of scam include Microsoft, NBN and Telstra.
- The caller says there is something wrong with your computer or internet connection. They may say your computer is infected with malware (software designed to harm your computer or files) or that it has been compromised in some other way.
- They will probably use technical language to scare or intimidate you into following their instructions.
- The caller convinces you to install an application or give them access (called remote access) to your computer.
- Once they have access to your computer, the caller may say they have confirmed the problem and ask you to pay a fee to fix it.
These scams are particularly dangerous because a scammers access to the victim’s device may not end with the call. Once they’re in, they can install malicious software, such as keyloggers, and use this to capture sensitive information such as passwords or banking credentials.
To avoid falling victim to a remote access scam, MailGuard recommends:
- Never provide personal information, credit card details, or passwords to an unsolicited caller
- Never grant remote access to an unsolicited caller, and proceed with extreme caution even if you have made the call or it has come from a trusted number
- If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from a big company who asks for remote access, hang up and call the company directly to confirm if this is legitimate request
- Make sure that your computer has anti-virus and anti-spyware software installed, and that it’s up to date
If you think you’ve fallen victim to a scam, check out our guide on what to do here.
Keep Your Business Protected
Prevention is always better than a cure, and the best defence is for your businesses to proactively boost its cyber resilience levels to avoid threats landing in inboxes in the first place. The fact that a staggering 94% of malware attacks are delivered by email, makes email an extremely important vector for your business to fortify.
No one vendor can stop all threats, so don’t leave your business exposed. If you are using Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, you should also have third-party solutions in place to mitigate your risk. For example, using a specialist cloud email security solution like MailGuard to complement Microsoft 365.
For more information about how MailGuard can help defend your inboxes, reach out to our team at expert@mailguard.com.au .
