Dyfed Powys police have received reports from residents who have had cold calls from individuals claiming to be calling on behalf of Sky or Amazon.
The callers will frequently say they’re investigating a fraudulent employee, and will ask people to install an app such as Teamviewer, Anydesk, or SupRemo, as well as many other similar apps. These apps allow others to have remote access to your computer, and once installed, the caller will ask you to access your online bank account, stating they’re adding money to your account to help catch the non-existence fraudulent employee, or for some other plausible sounding reason.
In fact, what has actually been done is transferring money from one of your accounts into another one of your accounts, making it seem as if they have deposited a sum of money. They will also now have access to your account and can control what happens with your money.
DC Gareth Jordan from the Cyber Crime Team said: “These types of crime play upon people looking to help catch fraudulent employees – when in fact the fraudulent ones are the people calling pretending to be from Sky or Amazon. Do not install software /apps that allow others to connect to your computer or mobile device.”
Dyfed Powys police give the following advice for helping to protect yourself from this kind of scam:
- If you receive a call like this remember, Amazon or Sky are not calling – it is a criminal that is calling that is trying to access your money in your online accounts.
- Amazon or Sky will never ask you to help track down fraudulent activity by one of their employees – they have all the resources to do that already.
- Never accept or download remote software to your computer that allows other people access to it
- Do not sign into your bank account online if you have installed remote access software otherwise you are likely to lose all your money.
- If someone on a cold call asks you to download a remote access app or access your bank account – end the call.
- If you have received a call like this, and you’ve accessed your account or transferred money – always contact your bank on the number on the back of your bank card.
You should report any incidents where you’ve fallen victim to this type of fraud to police, either online at bit.ly/DPPReportOnline, by emailing contactcentre@dyfed-powys.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101.
