Remote access scams   

What to look for

Scammers use a variety of ways to contact victims, including online “pop ups” warning about a virus, telephone calls, and phishing emails. Text messages and emails are also used to engage with and trick people. The scammer may initially sound professional and knowledgeable about the company or product they’re calling you about, but they could also be overly persistent and claim you’re being unreasonable or even become abusive if you don't do what they ask. Any behaviour or attitude like this is a red flag that it’s time to end the interaction.

Be especially wary of calls about online banking requests to:

• Reset your password after a recent spate of hacks
• Purchase a new modem to fix your internet connection
• Update your account or device with new security features
• Provide personal details to verify your account activity.

Remember, we'll never ask you to transfer funds or reveal your passwords or NetCode. We’ll never include a link to login directly from an email or SMS or ask you to share your screen. If you get an unexpected call from CommBank you can ask us to use CallerCheck to verify it’s us.

How to protect yourself

• Never give an unsolicited caller or contact remote access to your computer
• Never share your login details with anyone
• Never provide any personal details over the phone, by text message or email to an unsolicited caller
• If you receive an unexpected phone call, text or email about your computer and remote access is requested, hang up or delete immediately – even if they mention a well-known company or entity
• Scammers can obtain your number fraudulently, so you may still receive scam calls even if you have a private number or are on the Australian Government's Do Not Call Register.
• Make sure your computer is protected with regularly updated anti-virus software that you’ve bought and installed yourself
• Think about limiting admin access on your computer, so you just use a ‘user’ profile for every day to control who can install new programs and change security settings
• Consider encrypting any files containing sensitive information on your device or protecting them with additional passwords
• Scammers often use popular business collaboration tools as a way of remotely taking control of your computer, including TeamViewer and AnyDesk. Use these with caution and before giving permissions to other users, be certain you know who you’re communicating with
• Know that while most remote-access methods target PCs and laptops, there’s been an increase in the remote accessing of other devices, such as Android tablets and phones.