Beware of Cyber Scams
Office hours: +61 (03) 9562 2662
It is now 2020, and technology has become an essential part of our everyday lives. Majority of our communication and correspondences are undertaken via electronic means, whether by email, text, or various social media. Unfortunately, this means that we are open to a greater number of sources who can contact us electronically, especially marketers – people or companies who are trying to market their products, services, and courses – or scammers who are people trying to trick others to get money. You probably would have been a recipient of some telephone calls from marketers or scammers, or even hoax emails which are deceitful and threatening.
We too have experienced such telephone calls and emails, for example:
- Telephone call from a male or female robotic voice saying “You have not paid your taxes in the amount of $4,000 and we have asked the debt collection agency to come after you” and “If you give me your credit card details now, the ATO will waive all interests and penalties – otherwise, a police officer is on the way to your house and will arrest you”
- Email from a Paypal scammer claiming that you have made a purchase for some items and you can click a link if you want to dispute the transaction
- Facebook private message from a friend or stranger saying “OMG Jane, are you the one in this video 😊??”
- Email from a Microsoft scammer claiming that your emails have been undelivered and you can click a link to retrieve your emails
All of these electronic communications above are either spam, hoax, or phishing emails. The intention of these people behind the emails is to hack your bank account and gain access to your contacts, put a virus into your electronic device that tracks all the usage and transactions undertaken in the device, or place a trojan virus into your device that locks you out and asks you to pay money to retrieve your access.
Our advice to you is to not simply click on any link you see in a text or email. Read carefully and think before you click – and when in doubt, it is better NOT to click than to do so! If you are certain it is a scam, hoax or phishing, then you should delete the email or text immediately. Finally, if you are in trouble due to a cyber attack, you should make a report to the relevant authority, call your IT technician and call JK Lawyers to obtain legal advice so that we can help you.
Please call us on 03 9562 2662 if you know anyone in this situation. Remember, in our cyber world today, be careful of what you click!
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is not legal advice. It is not intended to be comprehensive nor does it constitute legal advice. We attempt to ensure that the Content is current, but we do not guarantee its currency. You should seek legal or other professional advice before acting or relying on any of the Content.