Remote access software enables you to use one device to access another from any location by downloading a smartphone app or installing a program on your computer.

Your data will be processed in accordance with our Privacy policy This newsletter delivers free money-related content, along with other information about Which? Group products and services. Yet the use of remote access software is not very well known - our survey of the general public in September 2020 found that four in 10 people have never heard of it, even though we had explained how these tools are misused by scammers to gain access to devices.

At a more granular level, Action Fraud says that it has received14,893 'computer software service fraud' reports between October 2019 and September 2020, with reported losses reaching around £16.5 million over that period. Impersonation fraud shot up by 84% in the first half of 2020, with almost 15,000 reports and £58m lost, according to UK Finance. Her bank eventually agreed to refund the money but other victims of remote access fraud have been told their banks will not cover losses if they give access to their devices. One of the worst cases we came across resulted in a Which? member losing £80,000 after a 'BT engineer' phoned about service problems in the area. Scammers posing as IT departments, telecoms providers and banks are tricking victims into relinquishing control of their devices to hack into their accounts and steal sensitive data.

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