Bank scam deluge grows
(5 June 2009 – Australia) The deluge of emails from scammers purporting to be from Australian banks, particularly CBA, has expanded to now include phone calls and messages to try to trick Australian consumers.
In recent weeks there has been a significant influx in scam emails trying to get banking information, including credit card details, from Australia consumers.
Now, the criminals are moving to even more sophisticated technology to try to rip off consumers via phones.
The new round of scams are now targeting people via telephone and SMS, and the bank that has had its identity used most in these attacks, CBA, has released a warning to all consumers.
CBA spokesman, Bryan Fitzgerald said that the banks has seen the emergence of telephone ‘vishing’ and SMS ‘smishing’ which is a new process where a person is actively contacted via the phone or SMS asking for personal account information and details.
Like email phishing, these telephone and SMS scams are designed to extract financial account numbers, passwords, credit card details and information that can be used to access customer accounts and withdraw funds, Fitzgerald added.
The bottom line for consumers is to remember that banks do not generally contact customers seeking personal information including asking for customer account numbers, pins or 3-digit CCV numbers, Fitzgerald said.
CBA spokesman Steve Batten said the bank had traced the scammers to Russia or somewhere in Eastern Europe.
The good news is a number of the phone numbers used have actually been identified and closed down by the Australian Federal Police, Batten said.
The SMH website reported that a Sydney based accounting firm had received around 60 calls in one day, and that the scammers even left voice messages.
Now, the criminals are moving to even more sophisticated technology to try to rip off consumers via phones.
The new round of scams are now targeting people via telephone and SMS, and the bank that has had its identity used most in these attacks, CBA, has released a warning to all consumers.
CBA spokesman, Bryan Fitzgerald said that the banks has seen the emergence of telephone ‘vishing’ and SMS ‘smishing’ which is a new process where a person is actively contacted via the phone or SMS asking for personal account information and details.
Like email phishing, these telephone and SMS scams are designed to extract financial account numbers, passwords, credit card details and information that can be used to access customer accounts and withdraw funds, Fitzgerald added.
The bottom line for consumers is to remember that banks do not generally contact customers seeking personal information including asking for customer account numbers, pins or 3-digit CCV numbers, Fitzgerald said.
CBA spokesman Steve Batten said the bank had traced the scammers to Russia or somewhere in Eastern Europe.
The good news is a number of the phone numbers used have actually been identified and closed down by the Australian Federal Police, Batten said.
The SMH website reported that a Sydney based accounting firm had received around 60 calls in one day, and that the scammers even left voice messages.
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