Dubbo business owners are being urged to update their internet security to ensure they aren’t at risk from viruses that could cost them thousands of dollars or even ruin their enterprise.
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A range of spam emails are bombarding the accounts of individuals and companies across the city that are aiming to steal information, including bank account details, or are locking up data.
Dubbo Chamber of Commerce president Matt Wright said all organisations and individuals should be aware of the threat and ensure they are protected.
“We are getting an increase in spam through emails and different schemes and scams. We've had increase reports of businesses being exposed to that,” he said.
“It's not just the financial losses but also the disruption to businesses and loss of productivity.”
Mr Wright said one Dubbo business had been impacted by a key tracking virus that was able to steak bank details.
“That particular incident involves a sum well into the tens of thousands of dollars,” he said.
“Whilst the business is confident that their bank should eventually be able to return the funds, the business will continue to suffer from potential cashflow issues and stress until the matter is resolved.”
Leading Edge Computers Dubbo manager Kristen Robb said they saw people every week who were impacted by the various scams.
He said a customer from a sister store had shut their entire business down because of damage caused by cyber crime.
He said the most common one was the encryto virus or ransomware, which locked up files until the victim pays a fee, generally using an online currency like bitcoins.
“The current one looks like an AGL bill, you open the file and it encypts your data,” Mr Robb said. “There have been others like a speeding fine from the RMS and one from Australia Post.”
“Some people have paid and had their files unlocked, others have paid and nothing has happened. We don’t recommend paying because it is extortion and encouraging those who do it.
“Unless you have your information backed up remotely or via a cloud, you won’t be able to recover it.”
The best way to protect, according to Mr Robb, was talking to an IT professional, and using a mixture of up-to-date internet security, a back-up system and a big dose of caution.
“Most good anti-virus like Trend Micro, will recognise when files are being encrypted and block that from happening as a precaution,” he said.
“Backing up is important and that back up being off-site or disconnected most of the time. If a hard drive is plugged in when a virus hits, that data can also be effected.
“A lot of these emails are very convincing but it is important to use caution and be sure you know where they are coming from.”