I love hearing from my readers, and it’s why I started this column: to bridge the gap between us technical folks and the average person.

A few weeks ago, I got a call from a reader who, unfortunately, had been scammed and lost a sum of money.

Her daughter had shared one of my articles on refund scams with her, but sadly, it came too late.

We spoke for some time, and she gave me permission to share her story.

As she explained what happened, she mentioned that it was a different scam but used a similar approach.

Through our conversation, I was able to piece together what probably occurred.

It all started with a call from ‘NBN’ saying it was giving her a refund for having provided slow internet speeds

Red flag: As far as I know, NBN does not contact users directly. It would normally go through internet service providers such as Telstra, TPG, etc.

The caller told her they needed to verify that her internet was indeed running slowly, and for this, they required remote access to her system.

They connected to her computer using AnyDesk and, once on her system, ran a few ‘tests’ as part of the scam.

My reader felt uneasy about the process and decided not to continue, so she hung up.

However, unbeknownst to her, the AnyDesk connection remained active.

Red flag: Remote access software, such as AnyDesk, is commonly used by legitimate IT professionals to provide customer support.

However, scammers also exploit this software, as it allows them to gain full remote access to your computer.

Once connected, they can browse your files and control your system, even if you think the connection has been closed.

This access is especially dangerous because scammers can view sensitive information and perform unauthorised actions without your knowledge.

I suspect that they searched her computer and discovered where she banked.

Shortly after the initial call, she received another call from someone claiming to be from her bank’s fraud department.

They told her they’d detected a fraudulent bank transfer, possibly related to an NBN scam.

This approach was particularly sneaky, combining two attacks in one.

Once again, they asked her to grant access via AnyDesk, this time to view her online banking and show her the so-called fraudulent transactions.

She had protections in place to prevent large transfers from certain accounts, but sadly, when she wasn’t paying attention, they moved funds between her accounts to bypass these restrictions and make the transfer out of her account possible.

Red flag: Banking institutions will never ask to remotely access your computer.

They can view all account transactions and activity securely from their own systems, so they have no need for remote access.

Any request from someone claiming to be from your bank, asking to connect to your device, is a major warning sign of a potential scam.

Legitimate banks handle all transaction monitoring internally and will never require access to your personal computer to verify account details or suspicious activity.

She soon noticed that, instead of a refund, a sum of money had been transferred out of her account.

This was extremely distressing, and she was too afraid to call the bank immediately.

She waited until the next day and went into a branch, where her fears were confirmed.

She had been scammed.

The bank informed her that it would take up to 30 days to receive a response about what options might be available to her.

It’s essential to talk openly about scams and make it a regular part of our conversations.

I was once caught in a credit card scam, which I suspect was due to card skimming.

We especially need to keep our elderly loved ones informed; my grandfather, for example, calls me regularly to check suspicious emails or any unusual activity on his computer.

I hope you’ve found some valuable information in this post, and a huge thank you to the reader who shared her story.

She wanted others to be aware of what happened to her.

If you’ve been scammed or even suspect it, your first point of contact should be ScamWatch Australia at scamwatch.gov.au. Its staff are the best people to advise on these matters.

If you’d like to share your own story, feel free to reach out to me at askatech@mmg.com.au or call the main News office.

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Thursday, 2nd November 2023

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