Banks warn consumers to watch out for sophisticated scams

Scam activity is increasing and constantly evolving, prompting the New Zealand Banking Association to urge consumers to exercise caution.

Some ways scammers may target you include:

• Sending you fraudulent emails and texts with links. If you click a link, you’re taken to a fake website and asked to enter personal information, which is then collected by the criminals.
• Calling you and pretending to be from a bank or government agency. You may then be asked to transfer money to a bank account or give the ‘employee’ remote access to your computer.

Many of these scams are very convincing, so they can be hard to detect.

Here is some important advice from banks about protecting yourself against scams.

 

ANZ

“Scam text messages claiming to be from the NZTA, as well as messages impersonating ANZ and other well-known companies which ask you to click on links or call a number, are doing the rounds.”

 

ASB

“ASB is aware of a current phishing scam affecting our customers. If you have been sent a text message claiming payment has been made from your account, containing a link to log in, do not click on any links and do not provide any personal information. ASB will never ask you to share your log in details or Netcode.”

 

BNZ

“Phishing emails usually ask you to click a link and enter your details at a fake website that looks almost identical to the real one. You can spot a non-BNZ website by checking the link address (URL) in the browser bar. If the link address is not a BNZ website, it will not have bnz.co.nz in the link.” 

 

Co-operative Bank

“Remember that we would never ask you for your bank account or internet banking details. We’d also never ask for remote access to your computer, or ask you to install any applications on your computer.”

 

Heartland Bank

“Never disclose your password to anyone even if they say they’re calling from Heartland Bank. If you think someone else may know your password we recommend you change it immediately.”

 

Kiwibank

“We'll never ask you to disclose your internet banking login details by email or by clicking on a link within an email. If you think you’ve been sent an email that doesn’t look like it’s from us, don't respond or click on any links – please forward it to suspicious.email@kiwibank.co.nz.”

 

SBS Bank

“Don’t reveal personal or financial information in email, don’t respond to email solicitations for this information, and don’t click on links sent in emails you’re not sure of.”

 

TSB

“Destroy your personal information, don’t just throw it away – opportunistic criminals have no qualms about going through your rubbish.”

 

Westpac

“Keep passwords and security codes secure. Never give a stranger remote access to your device. Keep operating systems and apps up to date on all devices.”