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Stay alert: Bank impersonation scams are on the rise

Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with recent reports showing a rise in bank impersonation scams across Australia.  While these scams have not affected The Mutual Bank, we want to remind our Members to stay alert and aware, as smaller banks and mutuals are now being targeted alongside the majors.  What is a bank impersonation scam?  A scammer pretends to be from a bank’s fraud team. They often have convincing personal information such as your name, card number and sometimes your date of birth.  Scammers may:  Contact you by phone or text pretending to be your bank  Ask for access to accounts or security codes  Ask you to urgently transfer money to another account “for safety”    They may even send messages that appear in the same message thread as genuine bank messages.  Remember!   It’s important to remember:  We will never ask you to move your money to another account  We will never ask for one-time passcodes, PINs or passwords  We will not pressure you to act urgently over the phone or by text  If you’re ever unsure, please hang up and contact us using the phone number listed on our public website.    Watch: How bank impersonation scams work  This video explains how scammers impersonate banks and why their tactics can seem so believable.  Awareness is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself. By staying alert and knowing what to look out for, you can help keep your money and personal information safe. 

Scam Awareness

Confirmation of Payee is here

A new layer of protection for your payments is now live. The Mutual Bank has introduced Confirmation of Payee (CoP) - an industry-wide service designed to help protect you from mistaken payments and scams when sending money to a BSB and account number. What is Confirmation of Payee? Confirmation of Payee checks the account name, BSB, and account number you enter against the details held by the recipient’s bank. It then lets you know whether the information matches, closely matches, or doesn’t match at all. This gives you more confidence that your money is going where you intend it to. How does it work? You don’t need to do anything to activate CoP, it’s already available in Internet Banking and the Mutual App. When you make a payment or update a payee’s details, you’ll see the match result before confirming the transaction. Learn more, including some Frequently Asked Questions here. 

Tea and Tips: Scam Awareness Event

Scams Awareness Week is back from 25–29 August, and this year we’re building on the success of last year’s branch visits by taking our message even further into the community. Last year, our team visited our branches to speak directly with Members about scams - how they happen, who they target and how to stay safe. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with Members sharing their own experiences and learning how to protect themselves and their loved ones. This year, we’re continuing that momentum with an event designed to open up the conversation, raise awareness and empower our community to take action. What’s Happening This Year? Our team will be hosting “Tea and Tips: Staying Safe from Scams” - a special event on Tuesday 26 August from 1.00 pm to 2.30 pm at the East Maitland Bowling Club. Members are invited to come along for a cuppa and hear from our CEO Mark Williams and a panel of experts as they share insights into common scams and how to avoid them. Our panel of experts will include:  Tamar MacDonald - Head of Financial Crimes, The Mutual Bank Giselle Lindley - Head of Financial Crimes, Indue Roger Darvall-Stevens - Partner, Fraud & Forensic Science, RSM Australia Andrew Connelly - Director, Fraud & Forensic Science, RSM Australia Our Financial Crimes Team will be available to chat, answer questions and hand out resources like the Little Black Book of Scams and our handy scam prevention fridge magnets. Why It Matters Australians lost $2 billion to scammers in 2024. The good news is the amount lost has dropped from the previous year which the National Anti-Scam Centre’s Targeting Scams Report attributes to the growing impact of coordinated efforts by government, industry, law enforcement and community organisations to disrupt scam operations and protect consumers. The top five scam types in the report were investment, romance, payment redirection, remote access and phishing scams, which jointly accounted for more than 70 per cent of the total combined losses. By sharing stories and starting conversations, we can help others spot scams before they happen. We want our Members to feel confident, informed, and supported. How You Can Get Involved Attend our Tea and Tips event – RSVP by Friday 22 August or by calling us on 1300 688 825. Stop. Check. Protect. – use this simple message to stay scam-aware Share your story – talking about scams helps others avoid them. We’re proud to be part of this national campaign and invite all Members to join us in protecting our community.

Introducing Confirmation of Payee

At The Mutual Bank we are dedicated to safeguarding our Members from scams and fraud.  As part of this commitment, we are working to introduce the Scam-Safe Accord, a joint initiative by Customer Owned Banking (COBA) the Australian Banking Authority (ABA).  The Scam-Safe Accord aims to protect Australian consumers and small businesses through principles of disrupt, detect, and respond.  A key initiative of this is the Confirmation of Payee (CoP) service which is a solution to verify payee details when making a payment or transferring money.  The Confirmation of Payee (CoP) service, an industry-wide initiative by Australian Payments Plus (AP+) adds a new layer of protection for our Members. It helps verify payee details when making a payment or transferring money, ensuring that you are sending the money where you intend to.  You can learn more about this new service, including reading some Frequently Asked Questions here.

Beware of Scammers after severe weather event

The Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) warns people to be on the alert for scammers targeting people impacted by the severe weather event which impacted the Hunter and parts of NSW.  “In the chaos following severe weather events and natural disasters, it is important to be vigilant as scammers prey on people's desperation and goodwill,” said COBA Head of Financial Crimes and Cyber Resilience Martin Latimer.  Following emergencies, fraudsters will often impersonate government agencies like Centrelink and the ATO, or utility providers, offering supposed rebates.  “They know people are desperate to recover financially, and they exploit that desperation by offering false promises of financial relief. This tactic of offering rebates and insurance payouts is a classic tool used by scammers to gain access to personal information and bank details,” he warned.  Another common tactic scammers use is to pose as legitimate charitable organisations, COBA warns. Before donating, take the time to verify the charity's legitimacy through trusted resources like the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). When you're ready to give, go directly to the official website of the charity to make your donation.   “Always check the legitimacy of a URL, look for secure payment methods, and confirm their affiliation with the genuine charity or organisation. Best practice is to only donate through the genuine website,” Martin advised.  Be wary of unsolicited donation requests, another key sign of scams. Scammers also use phishing to steal your personal and financial data.  “A common phishing tactic is a scammer sending a text message, social media post or email, asking for donations and urging you to click on a link. These links will lead to fake websites and phishing pages designed to steal personal and payment information, or download malware onto your device,” Martin said.  “Avoid sharing any information that is not relevant, and don’t give out information to unknown or unverified individuals or organisations, especially if the contact was unsolicited,” he added.   Always remember to “Stop. Check. Protect”. If you encounter a potential scam, report it to ScamWatch.gov.au to help protect others. If you think you've been scammed, immediately report the transaction(s) by call us in business hours on 1300 688 825 or email us at info@themutual.com.au. If you are experiencing financial hardship due to the weather event, please reach out to us, as we may be able to help. Members can access the Financial Hardship Request Form on our website which you can fill out and email back to us, and our team will be in touch to see how we may be able to assist you. Members who have CGU insurance can call 13 24 80 or make a claim online at cgu.com.au/claims.  

National campaign to help stop scammers

The Mutual Bank is throwing its support behind a new campaign from the National Anti-Scam Centre to help Australians become more aware of scams. The Stop. Check. Protect campaign aims to educate the community about current scammer tactics, reminding us that anyone can be scammed, and for us not to be afraid to report a scam. The campaign launched on Sunday 19 January and asks us to take these three simple steps: Stop: Don’t give money or your information to anyone if unsure. Scammers will pretend to be from organisations you know and trust like businesses, the police, your bank or government services. They will offer to help you or ask you to verify your identity with them. Check: Ask yourself if the message or call is fake. Never click a link in a message. Only contact businesses or government using contact information that you find yourself from their official website or app. If you’re not sure, say ‘no’, hang up or delete. Protect: Act quickly if something feels wrong. Contact your bank if you notice unusual activity or if a scammer gets your money or information. Seek help and report the scam to Scamwatch. When you report scams, you help stop the scam and warn others. You can even find out how safe you are from scams and how to better protect yourself by taking a simple quiz: https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/scam-quiz.                    

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