Mayor4Unley

It’s just so sad that the Chinese made Huawei IT equipment is controlling so much of the critical and sensitive infrastructure across Australia (The Advertiser, 27 December). Our cyber security has potentially been compromised. Our data and Government data stored in the Cloud, our health records, transport and utility information and most telecommunication data are all potentially at risk. There should be a total ban on using Huawei equipment whilst the Chinese Government  has a right to access all data. We’ve had our head in the sand on this issue all for the sake of saving 10-15% by buying Chinese IT equipment. Given the growing power and presence of the Chinese Government in our region, we can’t afford to be offering weak links and ease of a cyber attack on Australia. It’s not a nightmarish scenario; it’s a reality. The risk must be addressed.

Beware opening a scammer's con this Christmas The ACCC is warning the community to be wary of scammers trying to ruin their Christmas holidays. “Scammers often try to take advantage of people during the busy Christmas period and prey on our vulnerabilities at this time of year. For example, they may take advantage of you looking for a good deal on a family holiday, searching for a loved one’s present at an online store, or even that you’re expecting a present from someone through the post.” Watch out for three common holiday season scams: Travel scams: scammers trick their victims into believing they’ve won a travel prize or scored a really good deal on a travel package, like a cruise. Unfortunately these seemingly too-good-to-be-true holidays are nothing more than a scammer’s con. In the past 12 months, nearly $86,000 has been lost to this scam, with about 1750 reports. Online shopping scams: scammers will set up believable looking online stores to trick pe...

Australians lose $45 million to scams in 2015 !!! It is amazing that this year (and so far only over 6 months) Australians have been conned and scammed to the tune of $45 million. That’ll probably grow to $90 million over 12 months. How can people be so stupid? Easily, if they believe in getting a huge reward for nothing. Beware of that person in Nigeria who needs help to transfer funds and if you’re into Internet dating and your new love gets into financial difficulty, then send nothing except an introduction to the scammer in Nigeria. According to The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) … ‘Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to get your money or personal details. Scams succeed because they look like the real thing and catch you off guard when you’re not expecting it. Our new Scamwatch website , which is being launched today, has all the latest news and tips to help you identify and avoid scams. By following the advice ...

Beware Fake Debt Collectors, usually by phone It is sad how many people get conned by scams, especially by phone. Here is an alert I have received via a security subscription ... May 2015:  SCAMwatch is warning of phone calls from scammers claiming to collect debts. Recently scammers have been cold calling, claiming to be from energy providers,telecommunication providers or even government departments. Scamwatch have received reports of these phone calls demanding payments for overdue accounts and using the threat of disconnection to try to convince people to pay. These calls are targeting both individuals and businesses. On some occasions it has been reported that the caller was from Centrelink and that pension payments would be stopped unless the debt was paid. Other examples include threats of arrest or court action for unpaid fines or bills or the threat of disconnection to essential services. What appears to be common to al lthese scams is the use of threats to crea...

This week (18 – 24 May) is Fraud Week . Fraud Week is an initiative of the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce (ACFT) and is a national campaign aimed at raising awareness of consumer fraud. There are in excess of 100 government and industry bodies which work side by side to promote consumer protection. The theme for the 2015 campaign is get smarter with your data and will focus on the importance of protecting your personal information. The campaign seeks to help Australians understand how valuable their personal information is to scammers, and provide them with some practical guidance on how to minimise the risk of becoming a victim of identity crime. To leave scammers out in the cold, follow SCAMwatch’s Top 6 Protect Yourself tips: Keep your personal details secure Think twice about what you say and do in an online environment Keep your mobile devices and computers secure Choose your passwords carefully Beware of any request for your details or money Get a copy of your c...

Some Apple iPhone and iPad owners recently found themselves locked-out of their devices and were held to ransom (for $100) by a hacker called Oleg Pliss. It seems that the Australian Apple iCloud was hacked and accounts were compromised by linking known passwords with account names. The following link provides more details and offers advice of what to do if you get hit. A proactive step you should take now is to change your password and not use the same password for multiple accounts. According to an expert ... most users use the same passwords for multiple sites and services, passwords attained from other sources were likely used to gain access to iCloud Read more here