A Western Australian man has been charged after allegedly establishing fake free WiFi access points to collect personal data from its users.
The 42-year-old man will appear at Perth Magistrates Court on Friday, facing nine charges for alleged cybercrime offences.
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How the discovery unfolded
The man was charged by police in May after police launched an investigation in April after an airline reported concerns of a suspicious WiFi network identified by employees on a domestic flight.
AFP investigators searched the man’s baggage when he returned to Perth Airport and seized a portable wireless access device, a laptop, and a mobile phone from his hand luggage. They also searched his Palmyra home.
Police allege the man used a portable wireless access device to create “evil twin” free WiFi networks.
It’s further alleged when people tried to the networks, they were taken to a fake webpage requiring them to sign in using their email or social media logins. Those details were then allegedly saved to the man’s devices.
AFP Western Command Cybercrime Detective Inspector Andrea Coleman said it came as a timely warning to be cautious about logging on to any public WiFi networks.
“To connect to a free WiFi network, you shouldn’t have to enter any personal details– such as logging in through an email or social media account,” she said.
“If you do want to use public WiFi hotspots, install a reputable virtual private network (VPN) on your devices to encrypt and secure your data when using the internet.
“When using a public network, disable file sharing, don’t do anything sensitive – such as banking -while connected to it and once you finish using it, change your device settings to ‘forget network’.”
Advice from the AFP:
Anyone who believes they are a victim of cybercrime, should report it to police using Report Cyber at cyber.gov.au.
If there is an immediate threat to life or risk of harm, call 000.
If you are concerned that your identity has been compromised, contact the national identity and cyber support service IDCARE at www.idcare.org.