SCAMMERS are sinking to another low by targeting the elderly and the unwell with their latest text message schemes.
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Anson Medical's business manager Joanne McRae, from Orange in central west NSW said she had answered several calls from patients after they received a bogus SMS asking them to click on a link to receive a message from their doctor.
Known as a flubot scam, if the message is opened it then downloads a specific type of malware to your phone which makes it vulnerable to the theft of information such as passwords.
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"We really need people to be alert to this new wave of messages," Ms McRae said.
"We've seen the parcels one ... but this is really clever because we are so reliant on our doctors at the moment, we're seeing more use of technology for health and it really does worry people who think their doctor is trying to get in touch with them.
"This scam's a pretty nasty one."
"We've had a couple of patients phone us because they have received these text messages which are a little bit unusual," Ms McRae said adding it was fortunate the patients were cautious.
"It concerned them because they are unsure of whether it's something they need to actually click the link for."
Ms McRae said Anson Medical, which can see up to 150 people a day and has around 6500 patients on its books, did not send text messages with links, but other practices may.
"Our advice would be to check whether your doctor's practice does send links with appointment reminders," she said.
"We know that Telehealth is really popular and sometimes that does require a video link but in our case we're trying to get the message out to our patients we would never send a link in a text message.
"If you do get one of these text messages, if you think it's a bit dodgy, check with your usual practice. Check with your doctor, is it legit?"
Ms McRae pointed out the messages often contain spelling errors which was a red flag.
"But it is a worry for our vulnerable people, they tend to be a bit older and maybe not as tech savvy.
"If it looks odd, don't trust it."