Telephone Scam Alert

Telephone Scam Alert

The New Zealand Bankers’ Association is urging the public to be on guard against a telephone scam.

Scammers purporting to be from the New Zealand Bankers’ Association are phoning members of the public and saying they are investigating banks charging excessive fees and offering compensation to affected customers. They then ask people to provide their bank account details so they can “refund” fees.

“This is a scam. Anyone receiving such a call should not provide any personal information,” said New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope.

“This provides a useful reminder to safeguard information relating to your bank accounts, and never to disclose your PIN numbers or account passwords to anyone, including people you trust.

“Never give out account details over the phone unless you made the call and you trust that the number you called is genuine. Ask for a name and number so you can call them back, and check that number against a number you know to be genuine.

“The New Zealand Bankers’ Association, and its member banks, will never ask a customer to disclose their PIN number or account password,” said Hope.

This kind of scam is known as “phishing”. Phishing attempts are usually made by email or phone. They can also be made by text message. Phishing scams try to get your bank account numbers, passwords and credit card numbers.

More information about phishing scams, and how to avoid them, is available here.

ENDS

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