[Janelle Ward]

It’s Scams Awareness Week and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has revealed the top five phone scams currently being reported to the agency.

Amazon impersonation: Scam calls about an issue with your Amazon account. They claim funds will be taken from your account if you do not act immediately by providing personal information.

Banking/finance impersonation: Scam calls, emails and SMS claiming suspicious activity, unauthorised debits, or that your account has been suspended. They request personal details to verify your identity.

NBN impersonation: Scam callers posing as someone from technical support. They claim there is a fault with your internet to get access to your computer and personal information.

Telstra impersonation: Similar to the NBN scam. Callers pose as Telstra technical support and claim you have issues with your service or internet to access your computer and personal information.

eBay impersonation: Scammers use a recorded message to claim you have made a purchase that requires a charge to your account. This is to get you to provide to personal information.

ACMA tips on how to avoid scams

• Do not provide your personal information to an unsolicited caller or sender of a message.

• Do not open links in any unsolicited messages you receive.

• If the brand has an app you can use instead of receiving messages, consider whether this will work for you. Messages you receive via the app are much more likely to be legitimate.

• Even if a message slips into a legitimate message stream on your phone, double-check it’s from the brand concerned.

• If in doubt, always contact the business via their publicly available contact details (or the details on your regular bill or transaction record) rather than the details provided by the caller or in a message.

You can report a scam here.

Have you become far more conscious of keeping your data safe in the wake of the Medicare and Optus hacks?

[Dickb]

I recommend if computer and smart phone users are concerned with cyber security and scams that they seek help from the many computer clubs that operate in Australia. If you are over 50 and live in the Greater Brisbane area which covers Moreton, Redlands and Brisbane, they consider joining Brisbane Seniors Online.
A volunteer empathetic patient tutor around the same age will visit your home and give you as a guide about 12 hours of home lessons on your device and at a pace that suits. Windows, Android, Apple devices and smart phones as well as digital photography are taught. A small Linux group also operates in BSOL.
An affordable fee of $20 joining (one-off) and $45 a year applies. Learners as well as volunteer mentors are welcome to join. Applications can be done online through the website.
Contact Brisbane Seniors Online on 3393 2225 or see http://www.bsol.asn.au Facebook.com/BrisbaneSeniorsOnline

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