ABA warns of new phone survey scams on banks customers

Friday November 6, 2009

Australian banks customers are being warned to remain vigilant in the face of the latest banking scam occurring in the banking industry, with the telephone now being used to contact customers directly.

The Australian Bankers Association (ABA) has released a statement warning all banks customers of this new approach by scammers trying to get access to their banking details. In the latest scam, people will receive a phone call claiming to be from the Australian Bankers Association conducting a customer satisfaction survey after which they will question about their banks service.

The ABA has warned that the first sign is that the surveying will actually identify themselves as being from the Australian Banking Association, not the Australian Bankers Association.

The questions that customers have been asked so far have started fairly non-descript in their nature, such as whom do you bank with and how long have you banked with them?

David Bell, Chief Executive of the ABA, said, "The ABA does not carry out customer satisfaction surveys. Two bank customers have now called us about this so-called "survey" They terminated the calls after these questions because they became suspicious.

"We are concerned, however, that if the calls had continued, the customers would have been asked for personal identification details including bank account numbers, PINs and Internet banking passwords and logins. The criminals which are running this scam could then use the information to defraud bank customers."

People are being warned that if they do receive a telephone call from the ';Australian Banking Association' in regards to any matters, especially surveys, they should simply hang up and alert their bank who should then monitor your account to ensure no suspicious activity takes place.

Details the ABA suggest you never divulge to an unconfirmed or untrustworthy source include:

• Date of birth, current address, driver's licence number and passport details
• Don't provide your PIN or Internet banking login or password to anyone
• Delete spam and scam e-mail
  
• Do not respond to requests that ask you to call unknown or un-verified phone numbers
• Don't use click thru options on any suspicious emails or websites, it is far better to enter the correct address for websites into the address bar

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