Govt cyber lead impersonated in remote access scam

Scammers impersonating federal government cyber security officials are attempting to coax individuals into compromising computers and revealing bank information.

The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) issued a warning on Thursday warning of the new remote access scam, which seeks the help of the public to “act against cyber criminals”.

It said the scammers were calling individuals on the false premise that their “computer has been infected or hacked” in a bid to “coax individuals into actions that could compromise computers or reveal bank information”.

“The scammers ask you to enter a URL in your web browser and provide your bank account details, and sometimes they try to entice you to transfer money – in one case, scammers asked for $20,000 to be transferred,” ACSC said.

“The Australian Cyber Security Centre will never contact you by phone to request access to your computer, ask you to install software, transfer money or request financial information.”

The agency has asked potential victims to report any cybercrime to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN). It has not disclosed if anyone has fallen victim to the scam.

Late last month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission revealed that Australians lost at least $4.8 million to remote access scams during 2018 - a 95 percent increase on 2017.