Scams, Spam and Cyberattacks

Every week it seems like there’s a new scam, spam or cyberfraud waiting in your computer inbox. Recently the PC Virus cold calling scam has been duping hundreds of New Zealanders into giving away money and control of their computers at the same time.

When you’re a victim on the internet it’s hard to know where to go for help and many people feel powerless. So late last year NetSafe, a non-profit  internet safety education group and their Partners set up the ORB – an online reporting button website. The ORB is a one stop shop for reporting online crimes and incidents.

By going straight to the ORB New Zealanders can access information as well as help in dealing with a vast range of problems. Issues dealt with include privacy breaches, on-line shopping problems, scams, fraud, spam and pornography or child exploitation.

The ORB is able to deal with such a range of issues because it brings together the resources of the Police, Customs, the Privacy Commissioner, the Department of Internal Affairs, Commerce Commission, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Serious Fraud Office and other police agencies.

It’s a central independent website that is helping to build a safer New Zealand internet community by making it harder for the scammers and fraudsters to get away with it. By educating computer users during the reporting process NetSafe aims to make people less likely to fall into the same traps again.

So next time you or your family encounter a problem on-line don’t absorb it… just ORB it on theorb.org.nz

For further information go to theorb.org.nz or netsafe.org.nz

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