Banking Scams
Banking is a reality for all Australians
But with banking scams evolving it is becoming almost impossible to determine if you are talking to your bank or a scammer. As financial institutions and authorities attempt to keep up with the constantly changing landscape, arming yourself with knowledge of banking scams can be your best defence when keeping your money safe.
Phishing text messages
Increases in a new and sophisticated phishing scam texts have been reported. The text messages appear in the same message thread as legitimate bank messages – making it nearly impossible to spot what is fraudulent.
These text messages are often a security alert and notify you that your funds will be frozen unless you click the provided link and give your security details. These messages usually use threatening language in an attempt to scare you into quickly actioning the request.
However, one noticeable trait in many scam messages is the request to click a link. This link usually takes you to a fake login page where scammers steal your security information.
It’s important to remember that no credible organisation will ever ask you to log on or provide any form of sensitive details via a link in an e-mail or SMS. Essentially, if the text message has a link – more likely than not, it’s a scam.
If you are not sure, use your browser to go directly to your banking provider and long in using their official website.
“At BankVic we advise our members never to share sensitive details through links in messages, always advising them to access their accounts via our official website or the app.” – Paul Colville Senior Fraud & AML consultant from BankVic
Phishing e-mails
Phishing doesn’t just come in the form of text messages, with e-mails also being a common way for scammers to try and steal your details.
These will notify you that your security has been compromised, an unauthorised device has accessed your account, or a password has been changed.
Knowing this will cause anxiety to the victim, the scam e-mail will ask you to call a fake number and provide credit card details to secure your account – before stealing your credit card information for illegal activity.
Similar to scam text messages, many of these e-mails will also ask you to click a link and enter your security details to secure your account. But just like an SMS, no reputable company will ask you to click a link via e-mail and have you enter any form of personal information.
Impersonation scams
In what is becoming a very common scam, scammers are posing as banking staff, their fraud department, and even the Australian Tax Office, making convincing calls and sending fake texts to trick you into believing they are legitimate.
They also try and fool customers with phony authorisation codes which they claim is for identity verification.
However, as always, banks will never send an SMS for identity verification and won’t ask for passwords or codes.
Impersonation scams continue to grow and become more sophisticated, with some scammers even convincing users they are legitimate through fake stock exchange and cryptocurrency websites which look just like the real thing. If in doubt, call the official number of your bank and ask – you can never be too safe. And once you’ve given a scammer money, it’s almost always too late to get it back.
Fake Cheques
Some scammers are tricking sellers online by promising to pay in cash for high-value items such as laptops or phones.
The scammer will then deposit a valueless cheque into your account which makes it appear as if the money is in your account. However, the cheque is soon dishonoured by the bank and the transaction reversed due to the cheque being fraudulent – leaving the seller empty handed.
To avoid this scam, either insist on getting the cash in person, make sure there is no mention of ‘cheque’ in the transaction name, and make sure the money is actually in your account – not just pending!
Remote access scams
In a scam which continues to fool many, scammers are calling bank members and pretending the victim has internet banking issues which needs to be resolved by a live chat online. The scammers then direct victims to a fake live chat site which looks completely legitimate, where they install remote access software on your computer and take control – stealing your sensitive details for unauthorised and fraudulent payments. If you find yourself in a situation like this, it’s best to hang up and call a trusted number to verify the interaction.
Paul Colville a Senior Fraud and AML consultant from BankVic shared, “At BankVic we advise our members never to share sensitive details through links in messages, always advising them to access their accounts via our official website or the app.”
What to do if you have been scammed?
Mr Colville also helps explain what you can do in the event of a scam, “Members are advised to cease contact, report the incident to us, Scamwatch, and law enforcement, and seek assistance from IDCare for compromised personal identity details. Overall, our focus remains on empowering members with the knowledge to safeguard their finances:
- Stop all contact with the scammer.
- Contact your bank or card provider immediately to report the scam and ask them to stop any transactions.
- Report the scam to Scamwatch and law enforcement at ReportCyber.
- If you think some of your personal identity details might have fallen into the hands of scammers, contact IDCare.
- If you have lost personal information or money, report the incident to law enforcement at ReportCyber..
Overall, to protect yourself online, it’s important to never share sensitive information via e-mail or SMS and contact your bank directly if you’re unsure about anything.
Ensuring you have knowledge on scams, such as by reading this article, can be crucial to keeping your funds safe, if you think you’ve been scammed.
For more information
For more assistance, you can refer to the Scamwatch website.
