🗞️Consumers and businesses warned of potential scams following CrowdStrike outage

Today’s email is brought to you by Empower your podcasting vision with a suite of creative solutions at your fingertips.

The National Anti-Scam Centre is warning consumers and small businesses to be wary of unsolicited calls, emails or messages requesting they download a software patch or provide remote access to fix or protect their computer from the CrowdStrike/Microsoft outage.

Downloading unsolicited software can give scammers access to your computer, including your bank accounts.

Consumers should also be alert to unsolicited requests from individuals claiming to be from their financial institutions or other businesses requesting they update or verify their personal or financial information due to the CrowdStrike/Microsoft outage.

“Criminals look to take advantage of incidents like this CrowdStrike outage, creating a sense of urgency that you need to do what they say to protect your computer and your financial information,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.

“Anyone can be scammed, so it is important to be wary of any unsolicited contact that purports to provide assistance in the aftermath of a major event like this.”

Consumers and businesses should:

STOP - don’t be rushed into downloading software or providing personal or financial information

CHECK - verify who you are talking to - call your IT support or financial institution on a number you have sourced independently 

PROTECT - Act quickly - if you have provided access or information contact your bank immediately and report to scamwatch.gov.au to help protect others

Got a News Tip?

Contact our editor via Proton Mail encrypted, X Direct Message, LinkedIn, or email. You can securely message him on Signal by using his username, Miko Santos.

More on The Evening Post AU

• Get Evening Post Wrap - for nighly bite size news around Australia and the world.

• Podwires Daily - for providing news about audio trends and podcasts.

• Podwires Asia - for reporting on podcasting and audio trends in South East Asia

• There’s a Glitch - updated tech news and scam and fraud trends

• Manpalikha - The world's and Asia's most inventive advertisements and news.

• The Freeman Chronicle Podcast - features expert interviews on current political and social issues in Australia and worldwide.

• That Podcast Exchange - This podcast is an insightful conversation with people at the top of their game and deconstructs them to find the tools, tactics, and tricks to help you achieve your dream goal as Podcast Manager.

The Evening Post AU readers receive journalism free of financial and political influence.

We set our own news agenda, which is always based on facts rather than billionaire ownership or political pressure. Despite the financial challenges that our industry faces, we have decided to keep our reporting open to the public because we believe that everyone has the right to know the truth about the events that shape their world.Thanks to the support of our readers, we can continue to provide free reporting. If you can, please choose to support The Evening Post Australia.