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Warning: New scam doing the rounds. Beware of "neighbours" calling and asking for your WiFi password
Warning: New scam doing the rounds. Beware of "neighbours" calling and asking for your WiFi password
A new scam is doing the rounds, with scammers posing as neighbours and asking for people's WiFi passwords.
The scam was first reported by a Reddit user, who received a call from a regular 04 mobile number. The caller, with a husky voice, claimed to be the user's neighbour and said that their WiFi was down. They asked if the user would mind sending them the details of their WiFi so that they could watch Netflix.
"I was so confused as I live in a huge compound in a densely populated area in Sydney with no friends around who would possibly disclose my number," the Reddit user said. "I'm not really sure how he would be able to get my number. I was creeped out and immediately hung up as he was very persistent claiming it's the neighbourly thing to do."
The caller, with a husky voice, claimed to be the user's neighbour and said that their WiFi was down.
Credits: Shutterstock
Other Reddit users speculated on the purpose of the scam.
"I'm actually pretty intrigued by this whole report, as I can't quite figure out why they'd want someone's 'wifi password' in a scam like this (presumably not a targeted attack)," one user said.
Another user suggested that the scammers might be trying to get people's IP addresses.
Some users even thought it was a good opportunity to have some fun with the scammers.
"I enjoy getting scam calls now, I play along for a bit and let them think they are getting somewhere. I actually get disappointed when I get the recorded Amazon or Ebay calls," one user said.
Another user suggested giving them the ‘four words password’, in reference to a comedy skit on Youtube from 2015:
Whatever the purpose of the scam, it's important to be vigilant and not give out any personal information to strangers. If you receive a call from a number that looks similar to your own, be suspicious:
"They usually call you with a caller ID that is "close" to your number. Eg if your number is 04 xxxx 1234, then they will call from 04 xxxx 1267. This is because they or their autodialling software assumes that Australian mobile numbers are geographically fixed like in the USA. So someone calling you from a similar number must be a local and thus you are more likely to answer it," one user said.
If you're ever in doubt, the best course of action is to simply hang up and report the number to ACMA, which you can do here: https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam
