What is a scam?
Scams are more common than ever. A scam is where someone deceives you into unwittingly participating in actions that are to your detriment; be financial loss or disclosing important ID documents. Scammers will use tactics to establish trust, play on fear, or use your emotions to manipulate you.
They might evoke urgency through fear, establish trust through claims of association to well-known organisations, or build a personal relationship with you in order to make you feel like you are their friend, romantic interest or long lost family member.
They do this all in order for financial gain at the victim’s expense. For your banking; they may ask you to make payments, lie to the bank, and share sensitive details that will allow them to compromise your accounts.
How scammers can reach you
Scammers will pose as known companies or organisations and use emails, texts and phone calls to cast a broad net called phishing in order to gain sensitive information from victims. In some instances they may have collected personal information of yours from unscrupulous sources with the purpose of establishing a visage of legitimacy to build and abuse your trust.
Ads on the internet can lure people in with promises of investment opportunities with unrealistic returns, miracle products, or suspiciously cheap deals are frequently used by scammers. Celebrity AI deep fakes are being used increasingly to legitimise the offer.
Online Marketplaces are one of the most common ways our members report scams. Sending funds to hold a listed item or prior to receiving it. Scammers also target sellers, creating elaborate means for you to receive their payments, these convoluted instructions if followed lead to financial loss.
Red Flags to look out for:
High Pressure or urgency to act
Keeping you on the phone or not allowing you to end the call
Instilling fear or a sense of panic
Requests for your sensitive information; card details, login details, photos of your ID, one time codes sent to your phone or email
Instructing you to complete certain actions on a device that’s connected to the internet that you don’t understand
Common scams
Remote access scams
Remote access scams occur when you allow someone to access your computer or mobile device by clicking on a link, a pop up or downloading an application or program.
Scammers call and, for example, pretend they are from the technical support team of a well-known business or service provider, such as Telstra/NBN, PayPal, Amazon, eBay, or a bank or a fraud team.
Over the phone or chat, scammers will ask you to download a program or covertly install one through instructing you to follow their instructions. You should not allow people who you do not know instruct you or guide you to your computer. If you find yourself in a situation where you do not understand what you are doing on your computer with an unknown third party, turn the computer off and cease communicating with them.
Phone/WhatsApp ‘family’ scams
You receive a message from a number you don't know claiming to be your child or family member who has lost their phone and needs money transferred. This is actually a scammer looking to get you to transfer money or give personal details. If you receive a suspicious SMS or Whatsapp message from a 'family member' that you think might be fraudulent, do not respond. Try to call your family member and ask if they sent you a message to confirm.
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Bank Impersonation scams
Scammers will call, text and email impersonating Bank Australia. They will claim there is fraud on your account and that you will need to assist them prevent it. This may involve disclosure of sensitive information, such as your card details and one time passcodes sent to you phone. Fear is used to create a high pressure environment, where you have little time to think. Our fraud team will never try to keep you on the phone or require urgent action.
It’s important to never share sensitive details even to unexpected contact from people claiming to be the Bank. One Time Passcodes and your passwords are for you only and will never be asked by Bank Australia staff.
They may ask you to lie to the bank, as they are conducting an “internal sting”. We are here to protect your money and if someone is asking you to lie in order to facilitate activity, they are doing so to try make it harder for us to stop their scam.
Branded investment scams
Scammers might pose as stock brokers or portfolio managers and pretend to work for well-known investment firms. Their documents might have bank brands on them that look real. Their website may look legitimate and they often use convincing sales documents. If you come across an investment that looks too good to be true, do not invest any money. Contact the bank offering it through another channel to confirm it is a legitimate offer.
Learn more about treasury bond investment scams.
Romance / friendship scams
Scammers enter into genuine-seeming romantic relationships and try to build trust and emotional connection, before presenting an urgent request for money (eg. investment opportunity or urgent medical treatment). Some common phrases used by these scammers are, ‘we are sharing the secrets of life’ or 'this can be our secret'. Scammers might also say 'I'm so embarrassed, please don't tell anyone' in an attempt to isolate you from telling family and friends who might pick up on the scam.
Phone porting scams
Scammers are using phone porting as a tactic to access private customer details – including bank accounts. A phone porting scam occurs when scammer transfers your mobile number to a device or SIM card they control. This process, known as phone porting, allows them to gain access to your calls and messages.Key signs of phone porting:
- Phone in SOS mode: Your phone might show “SOS” mode, indicating no network, but it could mean your number has been taken over by cybercriminals.
- Unexpected porting requests: Receiving unexpected text messages from your telecommunications provider requesting to port your number to a new device or provider.
Ways to protect yourself:
- Set up a PIN: Request a PIN from your telecom provider for account changes.
- Limit personal info: Remove personal details like your birthday and phone number from social media.
- Avoid suspicious links: Don’t click on unexpected links; verify before sharing info.
- Use authenticator apps: Opt for authenticator apps instead of your mobile number for multi-factor authentication.
- Unique passwords: Use different passwords for different accounts to limit damage if one is compromised.
If you’re concerned about your account, call us on 132 888 or contact your telecommunications company immediately.
Car purchase scams
The scammer poses as a car dealership and provides their own BSB and bank account (usually via email) to receive your payment when ‘purchasing’ a car. Make sure you call or visit the dealership directly to check these numbers and make sure you’re not being scammed.
Other scams to look out for
Business email scams
Scammers hack in to a business's email accounts and send messages from that email address, which are hidden within the system so the owner doesn’t see them, or from a different email address that looks almost identical so it is difficult to distinguish. They then edit emails to add their own bank account details for a purchase, so when the customer makes the payment thinking they are sending to the legitimate business, the money ends up going into the wrong account. Car purchases and other large payments are often targeted.
Online shopping scams
Online shopping scams involve scammers pretending to be legitimate online sellers, either with a fake website or a fake ad on a genuine retailer site. Scammers use the latest technology to set up fake retailer websites that look like genuine online retail stores. They may use sophisticated designs and layouts, possibly stolen logos, and even a ‘.com.au’ domain name and stolen Australian Business Number (ABN). The biggest tip-off that a retail website is a scam is the method of payment. Scammers will often ask you to pay using a money order, pre-loaded money card, or wire transfer, but if you send your money this way, it’s unlikely you will see it again or receive your purchased item.
Free trial scams
A free trial scam is when a company advertises a free product and claims you only need to pay for shipping and handling, or to try something for 'free' when in reality the target is gaining your credit card or other details. Free trial scams are usually conducted online, often through social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. You might be asked to complete a survey or pass on an offer to others before you can claim a voucher or other 'reward', or enter a competition.
Job scams
Jobs and employment scams trick you into handing over your money by offering you a ‘guaranteed’ way to make fast money or a high-paying job for little effort. The scammer contacts you by email, letter or phone and offers you a job that requires very little effort for high returns, or a guaranteed way to make money quickly. You may even come across false job opportunities on classified ad websites. If you provide your account details the scammer may use them to steal your money or commit other fraudulent activities.
What to do
If you suspect someone is trying to scam you, or you find yourself the victim of a scam, contact us on 132 888 immediately so we can take precautions to protect your account. If it's outside of hours, you can contact the Fraud Bureau Service on 1300 705 750 or +61 2 8299 9534 if you're overseas.
You can protect yourself further by reading about scams affecting others in the community, and the methods scammers are using to try to trick people, visitingscamwatch.gov.au. Scamwatch also offers an email alert service to help you stay one step ahead.
