National Anti-Scam Centre warns of bank impersonation scams

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) National Anti-Scam Centre has issued an urgent warning to the general public regarding a rise in bank impersonation scams. Fraudsters are increasingly using sophisticated tactics to deceive victims through text messages, phone calls, and emails.

Scammers are exploiting public trust in financial institutions by leveraging advanced technology to mimic legitimate bank communications. They create a false sense of urgency, often claiming account compromises or suspicious transactions to prompt hasty actions from unsuspecting victims. This tactic aims to override natural skepticism and exploit the fear of financial loss.

“If you receive an SMS with a telephone number to call, do not use it. Instead, call your bank direct on a number you have sourced yourself. Likewise, hang up if you receive a call from someone claiming to be from your bank requesting you to transfer money to ‘keep it safe’. Your bank will never ask you to do this. Ask for a reference number and call your bank back using contact details you have found independently,” said ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe (pictured).

The ACCC advises consumers to follow the "Stop, Check, Protect" protocol:

• STOP: Don't rush to provide personal information or transfer money.
• CHECK: Verify the caller's identity using official bank contact details.
• PROTECT: Act quickly if scammed and report the incident to protect others.

The ACCC cautions consumers to be on the lookout and examine all communications claiming that they are coming from their banks. As a defence against the constantly evolving techniques used by fraudsters, ACCC also encourages the public to document any incident related to scams to foster a community-driven defence against evolving fraudulent tactics.

The most disturbing aspect of this is that hackers can spoof legitimate bank phone numbers and SMS threads. This erodes one of the primary methods consumers use to verify the authenticity of messages received. This highly evolved tactic, ACCC reports, is so sophisticated that it makes it challenging to tell the real contacts from the fake ones.

To aid in the fight against these scams, the ACCC offers reporting resources freely to make it easy to combat the scams. You can report incidents or seek more information about the current trends by visiting scamwatch.gov.au or by contacting ACCC on 1300 138 917.