The New Zealand Bankers’ Association (NZBA) has found itself the unwitting and unwilling pawn in the latest scheme by scammers aimed at wheedling banking details out of the public.
NZBA chief executive Kirk Hope said scammers purporting to be from NZBA are phoning members of the public and saying they are investigating banks charging excessive fees and offering compensation to affected customers.
They then ask people to provide their bank account details so they can “refund” fees.
“This is a scam. Anyone receiving such a call should not provide any personal information,” Hope said
“This provides a useful reminder to safeguard information relating to your bank accounts, and never to disclose your PIN numbers or account passwords to anyone, including people you trust.
“Never give out account details over the phone unless you made the call and you trust that the number you called is genuine.
"Ask for a name and number so you can call them back, and check that number against a number you know to be genuine.
“The New Zealand Bankers’ Association, and its member banks, will never ask a customer to disclose their PIN number or account password,” said Hope.
This kind of scam is known as “phishing”. Phishing attempts are usually made by email or phone.
They can also be made by text message.
Phishing scams try to get your bank account numbers, passwords and credit card numbers.
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