Narooma-based computer repairer and IT trainer, Mal Barry has been busy in the last week dealing with four cases of people having their computer and bank accounts entered remotely.

“And that’s just the ones I know about, there could be many more,” he said.

In his latest case, the victim had $4,500 withdrawn from his account by the scammers.

These latest scams begin by someone from Indian sub-continent calling victim on the phone, claiming to be from Telstra and asking for access to their server and bank account.

After authorising access, the victim’s computer screen goes blank as the scammers access their server.

The scammers often claim the victim will lose internet access unless they allow access to their computer. They then ask follow-up questions about the person’s identity and bank account details.

“Never to allow anyone access to your server or give out bank details,” Mr Barry said. “Big corporations like Telstra and Microsoft will never call you asking for access to your computer and bank accounts.”

In some cases, the scammer also ask victims to read out their name and say “Yes”, which he said was recorded by the scammers for the purposes of accessing accounts.

Narooma police meanwhile in the past week also dealt with a local person had their identity stolen to enter into various mobile phone contacts.

Scams can be reported on the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) website, where there is more information on scams.