ACCC warns Australian online shoppers of Flubot parcel tracking scam

[Neferti]

ACCC warns Australian online shoppers of Flubot parcel tracking scam
Authorities have labelled a text message “dangerous” which is the last thing Australians need as they turn to online shopping during lockdown.
The masterminds behind the ‘Flubot’ scam text messages being sent to thousands of Aussies have changed their strategy in a bid to catch out more people.

For the last few weeks, phone users have been receiving scam messages asking to click on a link to listen to a missed voicemail.

However, over the weekend, the scammers pivoted to something new which is bound to trick more Australians.

From Sunday, users are being enticed into clicking the link by checking out when a parcel is due to arrive.

“Your package is due to arrive, track here,” it reads, along with a website address that will infect your phone with malware.

The ploy is particularly concerning considering that Australia’s two largest states, NSW and Victoria, are currently in lockdown, meaning online shopping is on the rise.

Scamwatch, a division of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), confirmed to news.com.au that the parcel messages were related to the Flubot malware scam.

Since the scam was first reported on August 4, Scamwatch has received 8400 reports of the Flubot text messages, with over $9000 in reported losses, as of Tuesday.
An ACCC spokesperson said: “We can confirm Flubot messages have moved from variants around missed calls and voicemails to ‘schedule your package delivery’ texts, changing on the August 29, 2021.”

The messages reported include: “Hi. We have (1) package pending on your name. Schedule delivery now”, “Your package with DHL (ePacket) is now in transit” and also, as seen in the photos obtained by news.com.au: “Your package is about to be delivered, track here.”

Delia Rickard, deputy chair of the ACCC, told news.com.au the scam has been widely reported in Europe and now it’s come to Australian shores.

In Europe, the scam originally started out as voicemail messages then evolved to be a more sophisticated fake parcel text.

Australia is following the same pattern, according to Ms Rickard.

“It’s a very sophisticated scam and potentially very dangerous. It can compromise people’s bank accounts,” she previously told news.com.au.

“Whatever you do, don’t click on the link.”

Instead, block the number, delete the message and report it to Scamwatch.

https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/c ... 6d49b984eb

[Valkie]

And this is what we pay our taxes to prevent.

But until the grubberment is scammed, nothing will happen.

[Black Orchid]

Impossible to stop. How hard is it NOT to click on an unfamiliar link?