Keeping connected and staying safe online

Here at Optus, keeping customers and communities connected is at the heart of everything we do.

Technology brings us closer together – our loved ones are only a phone call away and we can connect with our community at the touch of a button. While there are so many benefits to living in a digital age, not everyone we encounter online has our best interests at heart.

Unfortunately, cyber crime continues to be a significant threat for everyday Australians. According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), during the 2020-21 financial year there was one report of a cyber attack every eight minutes.

There are three key things our customers can do to improve cyber security and keep your family and wider community safer online. 

It’s a common misconception when it comes to shopping and banking scams, is that “this could never happen to me”. Many Aussies have come to believe these kinds of scams are only websites that look a little bit off – wrong colours, logos, spelling errors and the like.

Recently, Optus is seeing more realistic examples of these kinds of scams, where the fake website looks almost identical to the real one.

Customers need to be vigilant if they receive an email or a text message with a link from an unknown or unverified number, do not click on it.

Always verify with the company directly if there is any uncertainty. It is never a good idea to enter a username or password into an unknown website.

Malware refers to a type of scam that installs software on your computer with malicious intent. In some cases, it could block or prevent access to information on a device or in the cloud, demanding a ransom of money or cryptocurrency for access.

Victims of malware should not pay any ransoms requested by cyber criminals.

Keeping software versions patched and up to date is one-way customers can prevent malware taking hold of their device, in addition to keeping an antivirus active on all family computers and running it regularly.

Customers old social media or email accounts might be at risk of hacking, particularly if passwords are not regularly changed.

Customers should take some time to review what they’ve signed up for, what’s still active and what is available on there. People might be surprised to see how much personally identifiable information or private details are publicly displayed.

For important accounts, make sure passwords are regularly updated and not using the same one previously used on another profile. Then, go to the account settings and set up multi-factor authentication for a double layer of security.

Otherwise, shut it down to ensure it’s not at risk of being taken over by cyber criminals if the password and data falls into the wrong hands.

Lastly, it’s important to stay vigilant and trust your instincts. If a friend or family member speaks about a new website or there is an offer that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Don’t shrug it off. If another person gets hacked, their contacts can become at risk too.

Although the risk of cyber crime is ever present, these are just a few things our customers can do to keep themselves and their loved ones protected. Some more great resources are available on the ACSC site.