Australian Federal Police explain every scam online crippling businesses that lose thousands

The Australian Federal Police has laid bare the massive cost of scams in 2021 and a hit list of the ways cyber criminals target their victims.

Latest figures show Australian businesses were fleeced of more than $98 million in 2021 – 2022, with victims on average losing $64,000 per scam.

Here’s is what to look out for as the Australian Federal Police explain all the different scams and what to keep an eye out for.

What is Money Muling?

There are many ways cyber criminals get money from victims, however, once they have it, they can’t just deposit it straight into their accounts. They need to hide where the money came from – or launder the money – that’s where money mules come in.

Money Mules are people who knowingly, or in some cases unknowingly, help criminals launder their illicit money.

Money mules are used and exploited by providing their bank account details to help receive and transfer stolen funds, thereby ‘cleaning’ or ‘legitimising’ the money.

Watch a video above on what Money muling is.

What is Ransomware/Extortion?

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts and locks down the files on a victim’s computer or device. The attacker then demands a ransom to decrypt those files.

Sometimes, in addition to encrypting the files, the attacker will steal the files too. The attacker will then demand a ransom payment to both decrypt the files and stop them being leaked online. This is called double extortion.

What is a Remote Access Scam?

A Remote Access Scam is when someone contacts you, often claiming to be from a well-known company, and asks you to download software to your device to help ‘fix a problem’.

This software then gives the cyber criminal access to your device.

Once cyber criminals have access to your device, they can use it to steal your personal data, access files and banking details.

Cyber crime is crippling Australians and their business daily. Picture: Supplied

What is Malicious Software?

A common type of cybercrime that people may come across is Malicious Software – better known as Malware.

Malware once installed on your device, may allow cyber criminals to access your files or watch what you’re doing.

Cyber criminals trick people into downloading malware by disguising it in links in emails, through pop-ups offering free music, game or video downloads, through pirated software, or even requesting you download software, such as ‘codes’ to access videos embedded on websites.

What are Botnets?

Botnets are networks of devices infected by viruses that are remotely controlled by cyber criminals.

These networks are used by cyber criminals to commit large scale attacks, including data theft, distributed denial of service attacks, email spam, phishing and distributing malicious software.

Cyber criminals using a single device are limited to the number of actions they can complete, however creating a network of infected devices enables them to carry out larger scale attacks with increasing speed.

Devices can become infected through opening links or attachments in suspicious emails, or downloading malicious files that are disguised as free games, music or videos.

What is Business Email Compromise (BEC)?

Business email compromise is where cyber criminals either use a fake email account that looks or sounds similar to a business’s real email address or they gain access and compromise a legitimate email account. They then use these accounts to try and defraud people and businesses out of money or goods.

What are Keyloggers?

Keyloggers are a type of spyware that can be installed on devices to keep a record of what you type on your keyboard.

They can also be used to access your device’s camera, listen via your microphone or capture and send screenshots of your activities.

While Keyloggers installed on a computer by the device owner are perfectly legal, the threat is when keyloggers are used for criminal purposes such as identity theft, stalking and fraud.

Keyloggers can be covertly installed on your device through malicious links and attachments in emails, software downloads and some even just from visiting a malicious website.

What are Viruses and Worms?

Viruses are a type of malware, or malicious software, that can spread from one device to another inside files. They rely on people opening a file and sending it on to others to spread.

You may have also heard of computer worms, while these are similar to a virus, once a device is infected, worms can spread from one computer to another without relying on people to spread it.

Your device can be infected by a virus or worm from an email attachment or malicious link, from downloading files, or even through shared USBs.

Once your device is infected, worms and viruses can steal your data, download spyware or ransomware to your device and delete your files.

Some signs that you may have a virus or worm are applications behaving suspiciously or your device running slowly or overheating.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is an attempt by cyber criminals to trick victims into giving them personal information or downloading malware.

To do this they often send messages pretending to be from companies you know and trust and direct you to click links or reply with sensitive information.

These messages can come via text message, phone, social media or email.

The danger with phishing is that once cyber criminals have access to your information, they can use it to gain access to your device, steal your identity and steal your money.

What is an Online Shopping Scam?

An online shopping scam involves cyber criminals creating realistic but fake online stores selling items at heavily reduced prices or fake ads on legitimate classified websites.

Once a buyer places an order, items are either not delivered or fake products are received in their place.

Source: AFP

Originally published as Australian Federal Police explain every scam online crippling businesses that lose thousands