Westpac has released a recording made by one of the bank's customers of a scam attempt, as part of a public awareness campaign. The bank's financial crime intelligence manager Jessica Channing narrates the call, explaining how the very convincing scammer tries to win the customer's trust so as to trick the person to reveal his credit card details:
The clip is self-explanatory, but to reinforce what Westpac says; "the bank would never ask for a credit card number to cancel a payment - the bank would obviously already have this on file - and the "confirmation text" would be part of the scam."
Furthermore, Westpac said best practice if you do receive a call from someone purporting to be from the bank is to say you'll call them back on the official number. Don't request a call back though. Channing said the bank won't be offended if you do.
Here are some other common-sense tips from Westpac to avoid being ripped off:
- Be extremely vigilant for any unexpected or suspicious phone calls.
- If you're unsure if it’s genuine, end the call.
- Carefully read any messages or emails with verification codes.
- Never share your online banking passwords, phone banking or card PINs. Westpac will never ask for these.
- Don’t allow remote access to your devices or download software at the request of a caller.
- If you believe you've been targeted by a scam, contact your bank immediately.
Westpac also maintains a handy list of scams that are circulating currently, which is worth checking out if you come across something that seems too good to be true. Unfortunately, it's a long and growing list with the bank saying it has noted an increase in phishing, online marketplace fraud and parcel delivery text message scams.
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