Ben, an extraordinary Brisbane husband and dad, has been chasing Internet scammers for the past five years. “It is my mission at the moment to make their life a living hell, find their location, IP address etc. and provide it to the contacts I have worldwide that also go after scammers” he said during an interview. He has been fighting cybercrime and has come up against tech scammers who pretend they are sweeping your computer for malware, but are just hijacking into the systems of their victims. They often demand payment for their fake services through gift card serial numbers.
Cyber Hijacking
Cyber hijacking, or computer hijacking, is a type of network security attack in which the attacker takes control of computer systems, software programs and/or network communications. Other scams that Ben has uncovered include romance scams, fraud involving selling puppies that don’t exist, and identity theft. Victims have been convinced to send copies of their drivers license, cash bank transfers and Bitcoin to online fraudsters largely based in Turkey, Cameroon, Cyprus and Kenya, which Ben finds out by tracking down their IP addresses.
Security Safety Measures To Implement
- Avoid international calls to unknown numbers or country codes
- Never give out your personal information over the phone, especially credit card details
- Use strong password protection and authentication
- You should never give access to anyone to mirror your device
- Enable firewall protection on personal devices as well as work
- Back up and store your data to minimise blackmail leverage
Australians lost more than $34 million to scams in January 2022, with 21,110 scams reported – an increase of 45 per cent from the previous month. Identity theft, Internet scams and hacking are all on the rise, and education needs to increase around how to protect yourself and your business online.
For more information on keeping your business safe from cyber hijacking, contact our dedicated security team in Brisbane.
Author: Mahdi Kobeissi, Cyber Security Consultant