COMMUNITY Bank Marcoola has issued a cautionary alert to locals, urging vigilance against remote access scams that pose a significant threat. Fraudsters will gain remote access to individuals’ computers, leading to potential financial losses.
ScamWatch statistics reveal a staggering $15 million lost from 8,975 reported remote access scams across Australia in 2023.
Head of Customer Fraud and Scam Protection, Jason Gordon said scammers will use every trick in the book to gain access.
“Once access is granted, scammers may install malicious software, steal sensitive information, or initiate unauthorised transactions, leaving victims and their bank accounts vulnerable.”
“We will never call you to ask you to transfer funds, send money or ask for your PIN/Password. We will never ask you to download software or enable remote access to your devices,” Mr Gordon said.
“If you are speaking to someone claiming to be from Bendigo Bank and you are unsure if the caller is legitimate, hang up and contact us directly on 1300 236 344.
“We also want people to know that Bendigo Bank has removed links from all our SMS messages, so customers who receive an SMS that includes a link should treat that as suspicious.”
Almost half of all remote access scams reported to ScamWatch in 2023 were by phone, but these scams can also be via text, social media or email. Scammers establish trust by claiming to work for your bank, a utility company, delivery service, telecommunication services (such as NBN), or a government agency.
Bendigo Bank is committed to educating customers and the wider community to be especially wary of calls, texts and emails about online banking in which there is a request to download programs or software that enable screen sharing, reset a password or update account details.
Mr Gordon’s advice to customers who may have fallen victim to a bank impersonation scam is to visit www.bendigobank.com.au/security immediately and to report it and get support. Alternatively drop into the local Community Bank Marcoola at 1/930 David Low Way, Marcoola.
More information is also available via www.scamwatch.gov.au