Keep your personal details safe
Scams are becoming sophisticated and more complex.
New fraud risks emerge
Scams are becoming more sophisticated and more complex. Community First has strong protection measures in place but there is a lot our members can do to protect themselves and their money against new risks.
While scammers come in all shapes and sizes, the common thread is that they continually explore new ways to part us from our money.
Recently, several scams have emerged that suggest previously unseen fraud threats. Let’s take a look at what’s been happening, and how you can protect yourself.
Scenario snapshot #1
One recent scam event involved an elderly person aged in their 80s, who we’ll call Vera.
Looking through her banking activity, Vera noticed an online banking transaction that wasn’t familiar. Sensibly, she contacted her bank immediately.
On investigation, it turned out that someone had acquired Vera’s online banking details.
That same person had registered a new mobile device to Vera’s account, and then transferred funds to a business that Vera had (quite legitimately) sent funds to several years prior.
This may sound odd, but by sending money to a known payee, Vera would not receive notification from her bank about a new payee. Sneaky, right?
From there, the scammer contacted the business involved, and by impersonating Vera, claimed the payment had been made in error, and asked the business to refund the money. The catch is that the scammer gave the business a different account number and BSB for the cash to be forwarded to.
The business, not realising what was happening, obligingly repaid the money using the account details provided by the scammer.
Scenario snapshot #2
Jim (not his real name) was travelling overseas.
Like many international tourists, Jim used an eSIM at his overseas destination, which was registered to his mobile number. Even so, during part of Jim’s vacation he was in areas with limited internet access. Again, this is not unusual.
When Jim did regain service, he noticed several unauthorised transactions out of his bank account.
The worrying aspect of this fraud is that while Jim was out of range, the scammer had contacted his bank, and revealed sufficient personal details about Jim to have his internet banking code reset.
How can this happen?
These two quite different frauds share a few key aspects.
Most notably, the scammer must have been familiar with at least some of their victim’s banking and personal details.
This is a major red flag for all Australians not to share their personal or banking details with anyone.
It is also a reminder to change banking passwords regularly, aiming for passwords that crims won’t second-guess.
We know, for example, that around the world, the password 123456 is used by over 4 million accounts, and it takes crooks less than one second to crack the code.
Finally, check your account balances often. The sooner you identify an issue and contact Community First Bank, the quicker we can act to stop scammers in their tracks.
Remember, if anything feels amiss, act fast!
Contact Community First Bank immediately on 1300 13 22 77 if you’ve lost money and report the scam to Scamwatch for further assistance.
Scams are becoming more sophisticated and more complex. Community First has strong protection measures in place but there is a lot our members can do to protect themselves and their money against new risks.
While scammers come in all shapes and sizes, the common thread is that they continually explore new ways to part us from our money.
Recently, several scams have emerged that suggest previously unseen fraud threats. Let’s take a look at what’s been happening, and how you can protect yourself.
Scenario snapshot #1
One recent scam event involved an elderly person aged in their 80s, who we’ll call Vera.
Looking through her banking activity, Vera noticed an online banking transaction that wasn’t familiar. Sensibly, she contacted her bank immediately.
On investigation, it turned out that someone had acquired Vera’s online banking details.
That same person had registered a new mobile device to Vera’s account, and then transferred funds to a business that Vera had (quite legitimately) sent funds to several years prior.
This may sound odd, but by sending money to a known payee, Vera would not receive notification from her bank about a new payee. Sneaky, right?
From there, the scammer contacted the business involved, and by impersonating Vera, claimed the payment had been made in error, and asked the business to refund the money. The catch is that the scammer gave the business a different account number and BSB for the cash to be forwarded to.
The business, not realising what was happening, obligingly repaid the money using the account details provided by the scammer.
Scenario snapshot #2
Jim (not his real name) was travelling overseas.
Like many international tourists, Jim used an eSIM at his overseas destination, which was registered to his mobile number. Even so, during part of Jim’s vacation he was in areas with limited internet access. Again, this is not unusual.
When Jim did regain service, he noticed several unauthorised transactions out of his bank account.
The worrying aspect of this fraud is that while Jim was out of range, the scammer had contacted his bank, and revealed sufficient personal details about Jim to have his internet banking code reset.
How can this happen?
These two quite different frauds share a few key aspects.
Most notably, the scammer must have been familiar with at least some of their victim’s banking and personal details.
This is a major red flag for all Australians not to share their personal or banking details with anyone.
It is also a reminder to change banking passwords regularly, aiming for passwords that crims won’t second-guess.
We know, for example, that around the world, the password 123456 is used by over 4 million accounts, and it takes crooks less than one second to crack the code.
Finally, check your account balances often. The sooner you identify an issue and contact Community First Bank, the quicker we can act to stop scammers in their tracks.
Remember, if anything feels amiss, act fast!
Contact Community First Bank immediately on 1300 13 22 77 if you’ve lost money and report the scam to Scamwatch for further assistance.
Community First Credit Union LimitedABN 80 087 649 938 | Operating as Community First Bank | AFSL and Australian credit licence 231204| BSB 512-170