Scams, etc..

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Fri Aug 20, 2021 8:39 pm

Getting many text messages on my mobile :mobile:

a the moment, (most in broken English,) telling me to 'click on the link below to get a message'...! :puter:

Yeah, nah... [-(

Not even tempted, I immediately 'Block Number' which also deletes the shonky text :pc:

without opening anything... :-#

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Tue Aug 24, 2021 6:16 pm

Been bombarded by spam texts and ghost phone calls? You’re not alone :angry10:

By Lisa Visentin (The Sydney Morning Herald)
August 22, 2021 — 12.00am

Garbled text messages and ghost calls are hitting mobile phones across the country in a new wave of scams, including one that promises a voicemail from a friend but delivers
malware designed to steal your passwords and data.

The “Flubot” scam began circulating in early August, targeting android phones with an often misspelt SMS message about a missed call and a malicious link that, when clicked,
can harvest your contact list to spread further.

The competition watchdog has received more than 3700 reports of the Flubot scam since the first report on August 4, a record for a single scam, and is receiving about 500
reports of SMS-related scams a day.

A spam text message received on an iPhone on August 22.

Delia Rickard, deputy chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which runs the Scamwatch website, said Flubot prompted users to download an app which
installed malware – similar to a computer virus – that could access personal data and banking details.

“It is literally flooding the country and it is a really dangerous one,” Ms Rickard said. “We’ve just had one complaint for instance where the person lost nearly $5000. It appears
that the malware has created a fake Google Pay login screen, and the person logged in and then the money disappeared from their account afterwards.”

To avoid the malware, simply delete the message. But if you’ve already downloaded the malware app, the next best step is running antivirus software and changing passwords.
Telstra also suggests doing a factory reset on the phone, which will remove the malware but cautions that restoring a backup of the phone’s data could reinstall it.

The Flubot mobile phone scam is helping drive a bumper year for cyber criminals and scammers.

The end game for scammers is money or personal data, which can then be sold and traded on the dark web. Flubot is just one of many scams in circulation, with the pandemic
a factor in delivering hackers and cyber criminals their best year on record. The ACCC estimates Australians lost more than $850 million to scammers last year.

“So far we are on track to exceed that, which is terrifying,” Ms Rickard said.

Cybersecurity expert David Lacey, who founded not-for-profit organisation IDCARE to assist victims of scams and identity theft, said the vast majority of scams were executed
by organised criminal networks operating overseas.

“We’re looking easily at over 100 million scam phone calls coming into Australia a year, easily,” he said.

Among these are the blizzard of unsolicited international calls from places like Ukraine, Belarus and Tunisia that light up Australian phones each year. Known as the Wangiri
fraud, after the Japanese word meaning “one ring and cut”, it relies on the victim calling the number back and being charged at a premium rate.

Mr Lacey said another “spoofing” scam was also on the rise, involving criminals impersonating legitimate Australian businesses or individuals as a ruse to extract money
or personal details from unwitting people.

“The phone call looks like it’s from your friend or a small business, and that’s called spoofing, and we’ve seen that just jump a lot in the last three weeks in particular,” he said.

“All the criminals have done as disguise their caller ID to make it look as though it’s yours and there’s plenty of free apps out there that can do that. What they’re trying to do is
basically say: I’m in Australia, you can trust me.”

“A lot of those are cryptocurrency scams. We’ve seen fake COVID investment scams,” she said. “We are seeing so many more people shopping online because of lockdowns,
and a lot of them don’t have a long history of online shopping, so they are not familiar with the warning signs.”

If you’ve been scammed, visit Scamwatch.gov.au or call IDCARE on 1800 595 160.

Lisa Visentin is a federal political reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, covering education and communications.

------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEE ALSO (RELATED ARTICLES) -----------------------------------------------------

From News.com.au :type:

Thousands of Australians targeted by Flubot malware phone scam...

From ACCC Scamwatch :type:

Missed call or voicemail (Flubot) scams

Seejay · **Posted:** Tue Aug 24, 2021 8:50 pm

Thanks Rick, I received this text message no more than 10 minutes ago. I would not have answered it anyway, but the 'heads up' was very timely and just reinforced the golden rule that if I don't recognise the sender I delete it.

:ok:

Graeme Rhodes · **Posted:** Wed Aug 25, 2021 11:19 am

If my phone rings and no one returns my cordial greeting immediately, into the blocked list it goes!!

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Mon Aug 30, 2021 7:25 pm

Another new twist on the phone scam... :mobile:

(I've transposed it exactly as it appears in my phone's SMS except for a few added spaces I've put in between letters in the URL.):

"Your package is about to be delivered, track here: https ://www.lat est news 29.cm/q.php ?497jl3vm 2p7ae" (The SMS message came via mobile number +61 401 335 587 which is constantly engaged...)

(That 'fractured' URL is as received bar the spaces... They're getting better, no typos/ grammatical errors... Only problem is, I haven't ordered anything on-line recently that I haven't already received..,!) :dontknow:

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Tue Aug 31, 2021 5:26 pm

Another new twist on the phone scam... :mobile:

Just received another one, similar to the one above, :laughing3:

but this time telling me that a parcel from DHL is about to arrive...! :faaaarrk:

Shep · **Posted:** Wed Sep 01, 2021 7:22 am

Yesterday I received an email from APG telling me that my parcel would be delivered soon. The text gave a tracking number with a link. As it was l was expecting a parcel. I went to the APG website and checked the tracking number through them, and guess what? "UNABLE TO LOCATE TRACKING NUMBER" They're getting good.

BC · **Posted:** Wed Sep 01, 2021 9:42 am

It's logical, as a lot more people are trading online. So would be expecting parcels!

Peter Ferris · **Posted:** Wed Sep 01, 2021 10:21 am

Rick,I received an email from DHL also.Not expecting a parcel I deleted it straight away!!!

Hippy Chippy · **Posted:** Wed Sep 01, 2021 1:01 pm

Shep wrote:

Yesterday I received an email from APG telling me that my parcel would be delivered soon. The text gave a tracking number with a link. As it was l was expecting a parcel. I went to the APG website and checked the tracking number through them, and guess what? "UNABLE TO LOCATE TRACKING NUMBER" They're getting good.

The way I figure it, when I order something on-line, I'm happy to just chill out :wine:

and wait for it to arrive. :gotmail:

If I feel it's overdue, I opt for a somewhat similar procedure to what Shep has already detailed... :type:

I initiate a search by going back to my original confirmation order :evil3:

and use the tracking number which usually comes with the order...

:happy:

Another give-away is that most of my online purchases come from Amazon, or Kogan, and depending on size, :hiding:

are usually delivered by Toll, or Australia Post...

[-X

Scam notifications from the likes of DHL, et al, stand out like the proverbial :grommit:

balls...

Apart from their text messages :evil3:

often containing numerous spelling/ grammar mistakes, scam notifications also usually have 'php' in the link, an open source software,
(its the FREE software platform RAN Skilled Hands is based on,) not something that DHL, et al, are likely to use for their official corporate website/ tracking system... [-(

Above all, NEVER, EVER CLICK ON THE URL IN THE TEXT MESSAGE, unless you're happy for the scammers to have access to EVERYTHING in your mobile phone, :mobile:

starting
with usernames, passwords, bank/ credit card details, photos and ALL your contacts... but then again, you're :happy1:

MOBIs, so I'm 'preaching to the converted', aren't I...! :finga:

Scams, etc..

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