 Last week saw another iTandCoffee client tricked by a scammer, who convinced him to download an app that provided view access to his iPhone.
So I figure it's time to again emphasise that you should NEVER grant remote access to someone you don't know, especially if they contacted you. No bank, telco or internet provider, or any other business should ever need to view or control your device, especially when it is in relation to some 'fraudulent activity' or urgent problem that you have been told has occurred. Of course, an exception would be a trusted IT support organisation like iTandCoffee! But also be careful of Googling for support, and then trusting a 'support' person that could be from a scam website. I have seen multiple people caught out by this, thinking they had contacted, say, Microsoft - but they have actually contacted some other business pretending to be Microsoft. Scammers will make you feel there is an urgency about your actions and will keep you on the line, telling you that you cannot disconnect - that something bad will happen if you do disconnect from them. They can even get quite assertive and aggressive about it. And sometimes, scammers can use exceptionally clever tricks to get you to trust them. In a case I assisted with recently, the scammers had gained access to the victim's Amazon account and had added an expensive item to the account's shopping cart. They then contacted the victim, pretending to be the fraud department from Amazon and asking the victim if they had put that item in the cart, as they suspected fraud. The victim logged in to his Amazon account (via the authentic site) and found that there WAS the expensive item in the cart, which he hadn't put there. The fraudsters then told him they would transfer him directly to his bank's fraud department. The next person sounded so authentic that he believed it was the bank, so did not think there was an issue with downloading a remote access app to his iPhone. It is most likely that the victim's Amazon account credentials had been phished or obtained from a list of stolen credentials, and this is how the scammers were able to put an item into his cart. To avoid becoming a victim or such an attack, always use UNIQUE, complex passwords for your online accounts and make sure there is multi-factor authentication in place. So often, people don't take their account security seriously until they are the victim of a scam. Be aware that Amazon, NBN, your telco, Apple, Microsoft and various other businesses will NEVER contact you! And if you get a call from someone who says they are from your bank, also be very suspicious. Hang up and call the fraud number that is advertised on the legitimate website. Never trust a phone number the caller provides. - You can guarantee the caller is a scammer if they say they need access to any of your devices. And if you need advice about scams or need assistance after being the victim of a scam, contact iTandCoffee on +61 444 532 161 or at [email protected] - or make an appointment here.
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13/2/2024 0 Comments Beware of myGov scam emails Yet another scam email in my Inbox today.
This one caught my eye, because I know a lot of people might fall for it and give away their myGov login details. There are lots of variations on this theme, in terms of scam emails that pretend to be from the ATO or myGov - so please be on guard.  Last week, I had a remote appointment with a client who had very recently suffered the trauma of being scammed.
What was different about this client in comparison to many victims I see is that she was young and quite tech-savvy, and she had done lots of on-the job-training about scam detection. So she really was so shocked that she had been caught out, and wanted to discuss how she could better protect herself in future. Unfortunately, she fell for the scam because
7/12/2023 0 Comments How a scammer hijacked this client's emails - even after she changed her password Yesterday, I spent time with a client who had been the victim of scammers/hackers a few days ago.
Her email account had been accessed by a hacker, and this hacker sent emails from her email account to a large number of her contacts. The emails pretended to be from her, and asked these people for a favour involving a relatively small amount of money. But it was not just the sending of these scam emails to her friends and family (and other contacts) that was the problem. It was what the hacker left behind that was really concerning. If you are ever hacked, it is important to know that changing your password is not necessarily the full solution. The hacker may still have access to your incoming emails, even though they can't directly access your email account.  I was recently asked by an iTandCoffee Club member about whether I would recommend that she use a particular ad blocker on her iPhone and iPad.
I haven't been using any ad blockers myself and suggested to her that she probably didn't need one - and especially didn't need to pay for one. But then I figured it was worth doing some further research on this topic, to understand why one might install an ad blocker, and then look at which I would install if I was to use one.  I was asked this recently - what to do if you get a Friend request on Facebook from someone that is already your friend.
Usually, such a request is a scammer who is pretending to be your friend - and has even used their Facebook profile shot. Whenever I get such a request, I always report that 'fake friend', so that my Facebook Friend is protected. Here's how. 14/2/2023 0 Comments An email scam to watch out for I received an email this morning, saying that I have a myGov refund.
I don't really! This is definitely a scam, an example of the many that are out there these days.  The above images shows a text I received this morning.
Co-incidence so often catches us out with scam texts, emails and calls - and this one nearly caught me. I had recently taken a trip on the freeway and wasn't sure if I heard the 'beep' from my Linkt device when I went through the toll sensors. So I wasn't surprised to see a text like this. 1/7/2022 1 Comment Please beware of these scams - which caught out 3 iTandCoffee clients this week alone In the past two days alone, iTandCoffee has assisted three clients who had been scammed during this week. Another nearly fell for a 'Dropbox' scam email - but luckily checked with iTandCoffee before clicking the link.
Two of the three clients were caught out by a fake 'Telstra' caller who told them that their internet had issues, and who 'proved' that he was legitimate by providing some information that they were told only a legitimate employee of Telstra would know. One client lost $10,000 - money she is still not sure she will get back. The third client was caught by a scam email from a work associate from a school - an email which supposedly contained a 'Google Doc' that the person was sending to her. The Dropbox scam that nearly caught the fourth client was similar - asking the recipient to click a link to open a set of files with important information. |
What's on at iTandCoffee ?Below is our list of videos, classes and other events that are coming up soon.
Videos shown are offered for eligible members of the iTandCoffee Club. If you have questions, why not join fun and informative 'user group' meetings, held once a month. All iTandCoffee classes are run as online classes (using Zoom), which means you can attend from anywhere. |
27 Sycamore St, Camberwell, Victoria Australia
(also located in Daylesford)
(also located in Daylesford)
Call +61 444 532 161 or 1300 885 320
to book an appointment or class, or to enquire about our services and products
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