Second Aberdeenshire fraud incident prompts a warning over phone scams
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After the arrest this week of four people over a cyber fraud incident in Aberdeenshire which saw a resident lose a six-figure sum, a second case this week has highlighted fraud which utilised the AnyDesk app.
A male with a London accent phoned the victim stating he was from her bank.
He advised her that there was suspected fraudulent activity on her account and asked her if she had spent £800 somewhere in Newcastle and £400 in Norwich.
The victim confirmed that she had not.
This is a well-known tactic used by criminals to make their victims panic into believing their account has been compromised.
The suspect then asked the victim to install AnyDesk onto their computer which allowed him access to her account.
The victim lost a four figure sum before realising she had been scammed.
PC Michael Urquhart of the North East Crime Reduction Team said: "AnyDesk is a legitimate remote access software.
"However, scammers can try to misuse AnyDesk (or any other remote access software) to connect to your computer and steal data, passwords and access your bank accounts.
"To avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime never give anyone you don’t know access to your devices and never share online banking login details or passwords.
"If someone you don’t know is asking to access any of your devices and wants you to download specific software, the chances are it is a scam.
"Stay sceptical.
"Never trust a phone call you weren’t expecting.
"Don’t trust the ‘help’ offered that you did not request.
"The bank or police will never ask you to download software over the phone.
"If you feel uncomfortable or insecure stop and by hang up."
