Stop and Think!

[Laura1]

Hey there!

This week is International Fraud Awareness Week ! Throughout the week we are focusing on scams. Scams are deceptive, uninvited agreements or promises designed to trick you into giving away your money, login credentials, bank account details or personal information. We’ll be providing tips on what you can do to be scam savvy, and reminding you to always ‘Stop and think, is this for real?’ when it comes to scams. Keep an eye out for these red flags that you might have encountered a scam!

• You’ve been contacted out of the blue, by someone you don’t know.
• The deal or scheme seems too good to be true!
• The person asks you for your personal banking information.
• The person provides you details of an unsecure website and there are no contact details.
• An e-mail you receive has poor grammar or spelling mistakes.
• The caller does not speak English as their first language.
• You are asked to keep the communication a secret.

For more information check out this fantastic Scam Savvy Quiz on our website. Take the test and see if you can become Scam Savvy certified!

If you think you’ve been caught up in a scam, or if you’ve provided personal information to someone over the telephone or via email, or if you suspect that your identity has been stolen, please call us on 0800 ASK BNZ (275 269) and ask to speak to the Financial Crime Management Centre.

[Lawrence]

Thanks for sharing this, Laura. Some really useful tips

[Stu]

The caller does not speak English as their first language.

This one is difficult. Many of your wonderful staff members fit in this category.

It doesn’t help that when someone from the bank legitimately phones you up for something, to ensure they’re talking to the right person, they often ask you the same questions a scammer would! The best thing to do is to have staff ask the customer to phone the staff member back on publicly listed contact numbers (don’t provide the number over the phone), and ask to be put through to the right person. That way you know for sure you’re dealing with the bank, and not some dodgy individual calling you up.

[Godzonekid]

Stu, that is so eminently reasonable. For that reason it probably won’t be implemented.

Personally I struggle with some of the call staff. But… I have what is described as a moderately severe hearing loss. And due to this loss I struggle with the accents and mispronunciation that inevitably occurs.

Statistics show that across the country’s population as a whole between 8 & 9 per cent have a hearing disability that impacts their life especially in regard to person to person interactions.