New spate of bank email scams
Issue Date: - Thursday, 4 June 2009
WA ScamNet last month received more than 750 reports of consumers receiving bogus bank emails.
Consumer Protection Commissioner Anne Driscoll said the reports indicated a new spate of phishing emails, and consumers should be on the alert.
“The concern is that these emails, generally regarded as spam, are looking more and more genuine, increasing the likelihood that people may be fooled into providing their personal account information,” the Commissioner said.
“Banks will never ask people to confirm their log in details via email. All banks also have warnings and plenty of information about scam emails and other threats to security on their websites,” Ms Driscoll said.
The Commissioner said consumers should be aware that anytime they used their username and password for services, there was a risk shysters could be trying to access the information for personal gain.
The Commissioner said banks and credit societies were not the only organisations targeted by these emails.
“They also use the names of other businesses such as internet service providers, phone companies, social networking sites and webmail service providers,” Ms Driscoll said.
“It is not always about stealing from your bank account. These fraudsters can also attempt to access webmail and social network pages. They can then send emails to ‘friends’ asking for money due to an emergency, such as a mishap whilst on holiday,” she said.
The Commissioner said WA ScamNet had received a number of reports from Western Australians about these sorts of approaches.
“It can be a difficult situation when the request for money appears to come from someone you know and trust,” Ms Driscoll said.
More information about scam emails is available from the WA ScamNet website at www.commerce.wa.gov.au/wascamnet
The public can also subscribe to WA ScamNet Alerts. Registration is free and available from the home page.