National Scam Awareness Week

No doubt you have heard through multiple channels that it is National Scam Awareness Week.

Some of the stories that have come out this week have been frightening.  Perhaps the most alarming one was that the Commonwealth Bank stated that they are pulling down 50 fake web sites a week!

One must be vigilant and rely on common sense.  If your employer, should be running training and moreover have the best security software.  We have just ramped up our security and would welcome introducing you to an IT specialist.

Here are some scary facts – losses year to date from various forms of scams have been:-

  • $94,120,506 from investment scams
  • $13,399,355 from romance scams
  • $10,126,156 from phishing scams

But I suspect the real number is much higher as many would be too embarrassed to report their loss.  and rarely can it be undone.

The three most common scam contact methods are:-

  • Text message – 62,121
  • Email – 51,023
  • Phone call – 26,804

There are many things I could say but perhaps the best 4 tips I can give are:-

  1. Never click on a link from a text or email; always log in from your normal log in page.
  2. Never respond to a request for personal information.
  3. Use two factor authentication.
  4. Have an IT specialist make sure your security is state of art and up to date.

You can read more at the National Anti-Scam Centre – https://www.nasc.gov.au/

At MRS, we will spend today planning for your success.