Robo calls threatening legal action are attempting to gain access to your computer
I received two robo scam calls today. Both of them were attempting to remotely gain access to my computer.
In the first call the ‘robot’, an automated voice over, told me that they were representing the Australian Department of Home Affairs and that there were a number of ‘legal issues’ currently involving me.
The robo call even went as far as to say that several warrants for my arrest had been issued. For some people, including the most vulnerable in our community, this information would be alarming. It’s a message that could play on their primal fear. And, for this reason, I’ve chosen to write this article to help explain the strategy behind the robo calls – and explain what to do if you’ve engaged with a robo call.
Robo calls are part of a wider operation that is attempting to obtain money from you. A lot of calls are made hoping that someone will accept the ‘bait.’
In the robo call, from the ‘Australian Department of Home Affairs’, the robot asked me to ‘dial 1’ on my phone if I needed help with the defending the warrant for my arrest.
At that stage in the call, I hung up.
In the second robo call I was told that my credit card would be charged $70 “today” for an Amazon Prime service. I don’t have an Amazon Prime account. But in the call, again, I was asked to ‘dial 1’ on my phone if it wanted to stop future deductions to my credit card.
In both of the scam calls I hung up once the automated call asked me to dial a number. Immediately I blocked the phone numbers that the robo calls came from.
If I had have ‘dailled 1’ on the calls, a scammer would have begun the process of remotely gaining access to my computer to eventually gain my personal details, and money.
If you have given your personal details to these scammers, I would highly recommend changing passwords on your bank accounts and social media accounts immediately. And content your bank ASAP.
The Australian Government’s ‘Australian Cyber Security Centre’ has investigated these robo calls and released an important statement in August 2020 saying that “where victims have handed over personal details, the cybercriminals 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.”
The Australian Government’s Scamwatch office is contacted daily with stories of scammers at work. Click on this link to the see the most recent reports.
“Scammers have been known to target vulnerable people, such as the elderly and newly arrived migrants” — A notice on the Scamwatch website.
The Australian Government want people to report the activities of scammers— you can upload the details at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission website.
I hope you found this informational helpful.
#Scams #RoboCalls
