The National Broadband Network Co (NBN Co) is urging Australians to remain “extra vigilant” with their online security amid the coronavirus pandemic, following a “marked increase” in scammers trying to steal personal details and commit online fraud – heightened by work-from-home conditions.
The NBN co warns scammers are trying to mislead people by informing them their service will be disconnected should they not provide a ‘technician’ online access to their computer.
Security concerns have become heightened as more Australians work-from-home amid the COVID19 pandemic, many on company laptops/PCs.
It joins a variety of other phishing emails and online attempts.
“With scammers increasing their efforts to use COVID-19 to steal people’s personal or financial details, we are starting to see the emergence [of] nbn related COVID-19 scams, so we are working with agencies like Scamwatch to continue to monitor the situation and alert the community,” states NBN Co Chief Security Officer, Darren Kane.
“We want to remind everyone to never give an unsolicited caller remote access to your computer or devices via the installation of programs such as Team Viewer or share any financial information or personal details with someone they don’t know.”
Mr Kane has urged Australian businesses and staff to not get complacence with the security of their work devices and documents despite the complacency which can emerge from working-from-home.
“It is important to not click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails and never respond to unsolicited messages.,” Kane adds.
“This is even more important for all of us that are working from home, as scammers are on the hunt for ways to get access and disrupt home and corporate networks.”
The NBN Co is advising Australians to not leave their work laptop or devices unattended or in ‘unsecured areas’, and prevent family members from using them for personal use. The agency warns it runs the risk of work devices being accidentally inflected.
Australians are also being advised to heighten their home network security, and change the default administrators password on their home router.
Further information on how Australians can protect against online scammers during coronavirus is available on the NBN Co’s website here.
