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The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has flagged an alleged tech support scam by an unnamed Australian business in Wollongong, NSW, as part of an ongoing investigation.
The AFP claim that that the cyber crime investigation Operation Rayko is looking into an Australian business that claimed to offer support for Microsoft services — complete with website, phone number and Microsoft logos — but allegedly linked its victims to offshore scammers.
These scammers supposedly requested remote access to computers, convinced victims to purchase outdated software at an inflated price, as well as deactivated antivirus and security software.
During Operation Rayko, the AFP worked with Australian and New Zealand national identity and cyber support service IDCARE and Microsoft — the latter of which provided information on the products being sold and the offshore entities linked to the business.
It is currently unknown how many people have been affected by the scam, with police currently assessing seized evidence.
AFP commander of cybercrime operations Chris Goldsmid warned the public to be wary of unlicensed businesses and to carefully vet who they give access to their computers.
“In this instance the offending involved charging victims for products they didn’t need, and products the business was not authorised to sell,” he said.
“However, the consequences can be much worse — allowing scammers access to your computer may put you at risk of malware, computer viruses or even the theft of your identification details and sensitive personal information via remote access that can occur without your knowledge.
“It just goes to show that scams have evolved, they’re not as obvious as an email from a Nigerian prince anymore. Modern-day scammers are very technologically savvy and they will exploit victims’ trust in respected institutions to gain a profit.”
Goldsmid also recommended for the public download software either from Microsoft directly or official partners.
“Be wary of downloading software from third-party sites, as some of them might be outdated or may have been modified to include malware and other threats,” he added.
If people believe they’ve fallen for a scam by someone posing as a Microsoft partner or as the vendor itself, Mary Jo Schrade, assistant general counsel and regional lead for Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit for Asia at Microsoft, urged them to report it directly to Microsoft.
