There’s a rise in criminals calling, emailing or messaging people and pretending to be from the bank so that they can steal your money.

The scammers ask you for personal or financial information or to transfer funds or to give them a one-time security code over the phone. They often claim to be from the bank’s fraud department and might say that there has been a compromised account or suspicious transaction.

They may use technology to make it look like the call is coming from the bank’s phone number. They may send a message that looks like it comes from the same conversation thread as genuine bank messages.

How to spot the scam

You may get a call, message or email from a scammer claiming to be from the bank and asking for personal and bank details.

The scammer may tell you there is a problem with your account and ask you to transfer money to ‘keep it safe’. They may say it’s an urgent problem to get you to respond.

Anyone calling and behaving like this is probably a criminal.

What you can do:

• Do not use any phone numbers in a message.
• Ask for a reference number and contact your bank directly through a phone number that you find and confirm yourself.
• Hang up if you receive a call from someone claiming to be from your bank requesting you to transfer money.
• Don’t click on any links in an email or message on your phone, even if it looks like it comes from your bank.

How the scam works

Someone calls, emails or messages you saying they’re from the bank.

The phone call, email or message looks like it comes from the bank. The message may be in the same message thread as a previous legitimate banking message.

They say they’re investigating a problem with your account, like a hacked account, suspicious transaction, or online banking outage.

These criminals ask you for personal or financial information like account details or security codes.

They will then use your account details to steal your money.

What you should know

Your bank will never ask you to transfer your money to keep it safe.

Your bank will never ask you over the phone for online banking passwords, one-time security codes, PINs or tokens.

Stay protected

STOP – Don’t give money or personal or financial information like passwords, security codes, PINs or tokens. Don’t click on any links if you’re unsure. Say no, hang up, delete.

CHECK – Verify who you are talking to. Contact your bank using your banking app or a phone number you have sourced from your banking app, bank website, statement, or card.

PROTECT – Act quickly. If you have transferred funds, provided access to your account or information to a scammer, contact your bank immediately and report to Scamwatch. Tell your friends and family; it helps to share your experience so they can give you support and to help them stay safe from scams.

If you’ve been affected

There is no shame in getting scammed. It can happen to anybody.

If you’ve had money stolen, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

If you’ve had personal information stolen or need help to recover from a scam, contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160.

If you’re feeling distressed and need to talk about it, reach out to Lifeline or Beyond Blue.

If you’re worried about your safety or someone else’s, call the police immediately on 000 or go to your nearest police station.

Help others by reporting scams to Scamwatch.