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Remote Access Scams

In a remote access scam the attacker telephones you in the guise of technical support, a bank security team or a public official and persuades you to install remote connection software on your device. Once the connection is made, your screen, your files and your banking sessions are in plain view of the other side.

In brief	A remote access scam is a method of taking control of a device and its accounts by getting the victim to install remote connection software during a fake support or security call.
How it works	The attacker telephones in the identity of technical support, a bank or a public official, or prompts a call with a fake warning window. They convince the victim there is an urgent problem on the device and have a well-known remote access program installed. Once the connection is made they watch the screen and heighten the panic by showing fake 'scans'. They steer the victim towards opening a banking application, making a money transfer or entering card details. They clear the history to remove their traces and try to persuade the victim to tell nobody.
Warning signs	Someone who has telephoned you wanting a program installed on your device or your screen shared Panic language of the 'your account is under attack, we must act at once' kind A request to move money to a 'safe account' Being asked not to tell anyone about the call, and a bank branch least of all 'Virus' warnings appearing suddenly in the browser with a telephone number in them Payment being asked for by hard-to-trace routes such as gift cards or cryptocurrency
How to protect yourself	Do not install a remote access program at the request of anyone who has telephoned you; this rule has no exceptions. If a bank or an institution has called, hang up and telephone the institution's official number yourself. Do not call the security warnings with telephone numbers that appear on your screen; close the page. Never carry out banking transactions while being directed by someone else. Talk this scenario through with the older members of the household; this fraud targets above all the people who can be reached by telephone. Know which remote access applications are on your device and remove the ones you do not use.
If it happens to you	Cut the device's internet connection at once and remove the remote access program that was installed. Telephone your bank on its official number to freeze the accounts and dispute the transactions made. Change your banking and email passwords from a clean device. Put the device through a security scan; if doubt remains, consider returning it to factory settings. Report the incident to the legal authorities without losing time and keep the correspondence and receipt records.

The story always leads to the same door

The caller may introduce themselves as a support agent from a computer company, a bank security officer or even a member of law enforcement; the story told may be 'a virus has been found on your device', 'your account is under attack' or 'cooperation with an investigation'. Whatever the story, the request is always the same: that you install a remote access program or share your screen. That request is the clearest sign the call is fake; genuine institutions do not telephone you wanting to connect to your device.

There is no such thing as a 'safe account'

In the most destructive form of this fraud the line is 'your account is under attack, let us move the money to a safe account'. Yet there is no such concept as a 'safe account' in banking; the address the money would move to is the fraudster's own. When there is a genuine problem, a bank does not ask you to make a transfer; at most it suggests stopping the card temporarily. Every 'security' call that asks for a money transfer is a fraud.

Remote access tools are not the guilty party

Screen sharing and remote management programs are legitimate tools, used to help a family member or to receive support at work. The problem lies not in the tool but in who asked for it to be installed: if you did not request it and the other side has arrived by telephone wanting it set up, the tool has turned at that moment into an instrument of robbery. Knowing who can connect to your device is also a precondition of protecting your accounts.

Related terms: Account Takeover, Malware, Phishing

The story always leads to the same door

There is no such thing as a 'safe account'

Remote access tools are not the guilty party

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