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ANZ urges vigilance over holiday fraud attacks

Friday, 23 December 2011, 12:51 pm
Press Release: ANZ Bank

23 December 2011

ANZ urges vigilance over holiday fraud attacks

Bank issues list of Top 10 scams that could take ‘festive’ out of the Season

As Kiwis are busy preparing for the holiday season, ANZ New Zealand is warning that fraudsters are also more active than ever.

Chief Operating Officer Craig Sims says: “Just because it's the holiday season, it does not mean that fraudsters take a break. In fact, many fraudsters use the holidays to take advantage of the goodwill of others. At this time of year people are shopping more, buying online and generally using banking services more often – so the potential for fraudsters to target them is at its peak.

“The good news is that a bit of vigilance and some simple precautions will go a long way towards preventing fraud. It’s more important than ever to keep up good security practices and watch out for festive season scams. Doing so will help you avoid becoming a victim, so you can get on with enjoying the festive season.”

To help you and your family have a happy holiday season, ANZ has put together a list of the 10 most common festive season scams and tips on how to avoid them.

Online and social engineering scams

What are the threats?

What can you do?

• Watch out for Christmas e-cards inviting you to click on a link, especially if you don’t recognise the sender - it could take you to a site with viruses or other nasties.

• Many scams start with email, particularly tied in to Christmas, so look out for anything that shows up in your inbox uninvited asking you to divulge personal information.

Phishing (trying to trick users into sharing confidential information about themselves or their employer) and smishing (phishing via SMS) are especially common at Christmas, so be on the alert.

• Many fraudsters use details on social media sites to help commit crime – posting festive-sounding links or discount vouchers to lure people to dangerous or harmful websites.

• Bogus callers may phone trying to access your details by pretending to be someone from the bank or a computer support company.

• You get a new PC or tablet for Christmas and suddenly a fake security warning pops up advising you to click a link to update your security software.

Never click on suspicious links on social networking sites or in email – even if they appear to be from your friends. Always be wary when filling in surveys linked to via social networking posts and pages.

• Be on the alert for suspicious messages trying to convince you to take action such as clicking on a link or icon. As a general rule, avoid clicking links in suspicious emails and pop-up messages.

• Delete suspicious emails and SMS messages, and protect your friends and family by not forwarding such messages.

• Don’t be tempted. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The Consumer Affairs website lists common scams doing the rounds [http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/scams]

• If in doubt, hang up. Look up the company’s 0800 number and call them back.

• Open your security software and set it to update automatically. Scan your device using the security software you know you have installed. Fake warnings can mean your device is infected.

Retail Scams

What are the threats?	What you can do
• Fake charities – fraudsters often look to take advantage of festive good will, seeking donations for fake charities. • Christmas sees a rise in links on websites to fake sales and online auctions which don’t exist.	• Make sure you are donating to a recognised charity or make your donation to one of ANZ’s various charity partners. • Be on the alert for counterfeit merchandise. Beware of items that are priced well below their competitors, and be sure to buy from an

ENDS

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