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Don't be the next victim! This recorded call from a scammer exposes the signs we all need to know
Members, please take this story as a warning not to easily give out your private information over the phone, even if the person you're talking to is claiming to be someone you can 'trust'.
Not only will this put your identity and security at risk, but it also has the potential to put your physical safety in jeopardy.
To educate the public after a recent spike in fraudulent activities, Westpac published a rather creepy recording, revealing the moment a smart and cruel scammer tricks a woman into giving him her banking information.
The man introduced himself as a member of the Westpac fraud prevention team, claiming to be a staff member addressing a 'fraudulent charge' made in Mexico using the New Zealand woman's credit card.
During the conversation (which lasted for four minutes), the scammer kept his composure and maintained a cool demeanour while carefully carrying out his scheme—this means that they may have been doing this for some time already, and are already experts.
Scammers posing as bank staff is becoming more prevalent. Credit: Shutterstock.
The scammer reportedly obtained the woman's credit card information and sought to trick her into giving him a transaction approval number so he could make an online purchase.
Throughout the conversation, he used the danger of a fraudulent transaction and repeated attempts to establish his status as a Westpac employee to arouse panic and a sense of urgency.
'If you do want to check the authenticity of this call, you can check the number that I'm calling you from today,' he said. 'It's on the back of your card.'
Then, the man lied to the woman, saying that he had sent her a code to deactivate the credit card when, in reality, it was actually a password to make an online transaction.
The woman almost gave him the passcode when she realised how serious the issue was, but she was so worried and afraid that she backed out and stated she needed to double-check a few things first.
'Sorry, I'm just not comfortable,' she said. 'I'll make a few inquiries with my personal banker too.'
Fortunately for the woman, the suspicious transaction was caught by Westpac before any money was sent, and the attempted fraud was stopped in its tracks. However, it is not clear if the scammer has been located and apprehended.
Now, the bank is using the incident to highlight several red flags for its customers in case of similar scam situations.
Westpac warned customers about scammers impersonating bank workers. Credit: 7News.
According to recent data from Westpac, frauds involving impersonation are among the most popular types of scams that are now targeting customers.
More than 94,000 Westpac phone lines were put on a 'do not originate list' on Wednesday, making the bank the first Australian private enterprise to block calls from scammers impersonating the bank.
Hopefully, this will stop scammers from impersonating the numbers and using them to steal money from people who don't know what's going on.
According to Ben Young, Westpac’s Head of Fraud, the tactic of 'call spoofing', in which con artists use software to disguise their own phone number as the number of a well-known company, has significantly increased.
'These scams are incredibly challenging to detect because, from the customer's perspective, they appear to be getting a call from Westpac, when in fact, it's a scammer posing as a member of our fraud team calling from a completely different number,' he said.
'The scammer will then use personal information they've fraudulently obtained, like quoting the customer's name or last few digits of their credit card, to convince them the call is genuine.'
Mr Young also pointed out that banks are not the only type of business that are being spoofed.
'We are seeing a variety of cases where scammers appear to be calling from telco or energy providers, online retailers, government organisations, or even pretending to be family members,' said the expert.
Banks are not the only businesses being impersonated. Credit: REUTERS/Will Burgess.
An example of this would be the recent case of a mother in Bondi named Diana Nikitenko, who fell prey to a scammer posing as toll road operator Linkt. Because of this, the mum lost a big chunk of the money she had saved up in her bank account.
Nikitenko was notified via SMS that her toll payment had failed and that she must pay the remaining money immediately. According to her, the link seemed to be legitimate, so she went ahead and entered her information.
The next day, $3,000 worth of savings were gone from her account.
'Even when I called the bank saying I didn't make the transaction, I didn't link the two together,' she said in an interview. 'It was very smart. The perfect scam.'
Family impersonation scams are just as common as corporate impersonation scams in Australia, and together they have stolen over $2 million from naive Aussies in recent months.
The messages, which appear to come from a contact named 'Mum' or 'Dad', ask to borrow money from the recipient and provide bank account details for the transfer.
Members, we have to ask you to be extra careful when answering emails and messages, especially those with 'suspicious' links. These frauds are more likely to target older Aussies as we’re not always as tech-savvy.
There are plenty of ways to protect yourself from fraudsters. Credit: Freepik.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has suggested the following ways to catch scammers:
- Do not click on links or open attachments from texts claiming to be from your bank or another trusted organisation and asking you to update or verify your details
- Do an internet search for any references to a similar scam
- Look for the secure symbol on the website to know if it is secure
- Never provide your personal, credit card or online account details if you receive a call claiming to be from your bank or any other organisation. Instead, call your bank to check
- If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately
- Report scams to the ACCC via the report a scam page.
