Impersonation Scams
Fraudsters are using emails, texts and phone calls to scam consumers and businesses. The most common type are:
- Email scams: invoice redirection
- Text scams: pretending to be your bank, postal delivery or service provider
- Phone scams: may follow on from a text or be cold call pretending to be your bank
Text Scams:
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The text message will typically ask you to click on a link or call a phone number to ‘verify’, ‘update’ or ‘reactivate’ your account. The link leads to a fake website and the phone number leads to a fraudster pretending to be the legitimate company. Often pretending your bank saying urgent action needed to protect your account from fraudulent activity. Fraudsters are trying to get you to divulge personal, financial, security information or to transfer money to them.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
- Don’t click on links, attachments or images that you receive in unsolicited text messages without first verifying the sender.
- Don’t be rushed. Take your time and make the appropriate checks before responding.
- Never respond to a text message that requests your PIN or your online banking password or any other security credentials.
- If you think you might have responded to a text scam and provided your bank details, contact your bank immediately.
Phone Scams:
A phone call may follow a text message or be a stand-alone phone call. Like other scams the fraudsters are trying to get you to hand over personal, financial and security information.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Beware of unsolicited telephone calls.
- Call them back and to validate their identity, look up the organisation’s phone number and contact them directly. Don’t validate the caller using the phone number they have given you (this could be a fake or spoofed number).
- Fraudsters can find your basic information online (e.g., social media). Don’t assume a caller is genuine just because they have such details.
- Don’t share your credit or debit card PIN number or your online banking password. Your bank will never ask for such details.
- Don’t transfer money to another account on their request. Your bank will never ask you to do so.
- If you think it’s a bogus call, report it to your bank.
