Fleurieu and KI Police are urging residents to be vigilant of scammers trying to infiltrate your computers and accounts after an SA resident fell victim to a phone scam last week.

The Fleurieu resident fell victim to a Telstra security phone scam, where the scammer enticed the victim to download an app to his computer which allowed the scammer to gain remote access to the computer.

The victim was then coerced into buying a number of gift cards and those card details and pin numbers were taken by the scammer.

Scammers can be very convincing and invent seemingly legitimate reasons to make you part with your money or personal banking details.

Scammers may contact a person through emails, phone calls, text messages or letters. In some cases, the scammer will advertise something for sale that the victim wants to purchase, which makes it appear to be a legitimate transaction as the victim initiates the contact.

In recent times, many victims have deposited money into an account of a scammer, believing it to be a trusted person or company and have provided their bank details for the scammer to access.

To reduce your chances of becoming a victim of a scam, please consider the following tips:

* Always know who you are communicating with and where your information is going. If you are uncertain, confirm the contact is legitimate through methods other than what they have provided.

* Never give your personal details, passwords, credit card or online account details to a person you cannot identify in an official capacity.

*Legitimate companies, particularly financial institutions will not send emails requesting you to log on to a link – log on independently if you need to access that site.

* Never give an unsolicited person remote access to your computer. You may compromise the security of your device and your personal information.

If you think you may have been a victim of an incident, report it immediately by visiting www.cyber.gov.au/report  

You should also consider contacting your bank if you have shared your information or someone has accessed your account without permission.

Find out how to recover when things go wrong on Recover and get help | Cyber.gov.au website.

For more crime prevention tips please contact your local police station or visit www.police.sa.gov.au

Or visit www.scamwatch.gov.au for up to date news and alerts on scams and advice on how to best protect you and your business from scams.