The Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) says it does not call people out of the blue.

ACORN is dealing with reports that scammers have been posing as ACORN officers.

ACORN was set up in 2014 for members of the public to report cybercrime online.

But criminals are now seeking to use ACORN’s own authority against it, posing as officers following up on reports made through the site.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) runs ACORN, and its CEO Chris Dawson says “the targets of the scam appear to have been randomly selected via cold calling”.

Victims are asked to give remote access to their computers, confirm financial details or even undertake transactions.

In some cases, the fake ACORN officers have told victims that stolen funds have been recovered for them, which they can only collect if they pay a $99 handling fee.

“Neither the ACORN or the police will request that you provide them with remote access to your computer, that you make electronic funds transfers to a third party, or download software,” ACIC warned.

“If anyone receives a call claiming to be from the ACORN, they are advised to hang up and call their local police station (not a number provided by the caller)”.

ACORN sends an automated email with an confirmation number when a report is lodged via the portal, but it says any subsequent phone calls or correspondence will always come from the police.

Online scams comprised about half of the 39,000 reports lodged on ACORN's site last year.