By Neeraj Nanda
MELBOURNE, 13 December: Cybercrimes are rising all over the world as more and more people are connected online. Australia is no exception. Internet, computers, smartphones, iPad and many similar devices are essentials of our life. Suspicious emails, identity theft, online fraud, etc. are common to hear. Senior citizens or anyone is often ripped off by online scams. The issue seems to be never-ending. And solutions hazy or nothing. Such a crime is not even reported. Being online seems not to be safe. Then what is to be done to make being online a happy experience?
Detective Acting Sergeant Bec Stokes of the Victoria Police says, “Victims can be elderly who are not very familiar with the technology. But people of any age group are potential targets.”
“For example, one Cybercrime could be the ‘email compromise scam’ where an email with an invoice is hacked and the bank details on the invoice changed and resent leading the money going to someone else,” Bec says.
Bec advises “Never allow remote access to your computer”. In fact, the list of cybercrimes is a long and complicated one. Bec wants people to get hold of ‘The Little Black Book of Scams’ published by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), a pocket-sized guide so that you can protect yourself against such scams.
The guide deals with investment scams, dating and romance scams, money scams, online shopping scams, Identity theft, employment scams among others. In the end the most important chapters – The golden rule to protect yourself, Where to find help or support and Where to report a scam.
The guide is available online in PDF (or audio) format at https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/the-little-black-book-of-scams (CLICK BELOW)
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More information about cyber scams can be found at www.scamwatch.gov.au and www.cyber.gov.au
