ANZ partners with Age Concern New Zealand on scam protection

ANZ Bank New Zealand is partnering with Age Concern New Zealand to support older people with their digital literacy needs and help keep them safe from financial scams.

The three-year partnership will include funding for Age Concern New Zealand to provide a digital literacy programme to older people across New Zealand, and a campaign to raise awareness about scams.

ANZ NZ Managing Director for Personal Banking Ben Kelleher says scams have risen exponentially in New Zealand, and across the globe. He says the impact on older New Zealanders has been profound.

“Unfortunately, older people are at significant risk of falling victim to financial scams, especially as scams get increasingly sophisticated and harder to spot,” he says.

Research released by ANZ earlier this year showed that over half of over 65-year-olds have experienced an actual, or attempted scam in the last 12 months.

“More than half of those who were scammed lost money, however only half of those surveyed who experienced a scam reported it, and even fewer spoke to their friends and family about it,” Mr Kelleher says.

“It also showed people are worried about being scammed but aren’t always aware of what to do to stay safe, and sometimes the information about how to stay safe can also feel complicated.

Mr Kelleher says partnering with Age Concern New Zealand is an easy way for the bank to better connect with those 65 and over.

“With local Age Concerns throughout New Zealand often the first port of call for older people in their communities, we think there is an opportunity to leverage their reach and connect to a wider audience with information about internet safety, how to avoid being scammed and what to do if a scam occurs.”

Age Concern New Zealand Chief Executive Karen Billings-Jensen says "I am thrilled to see ANZ Bank New Zealand joining hands with Age Concern to empower our older people with the digital literacy skills they need and protect them from financial scams.

“This partnership reaffirms the importance of collaboration in safeguarding older people from the growing threat of sophisticated scams. Together, we can build digital literacy skills and scam education programmes to help older people feel confident and safe online”.

Mr Kelleher says there are number of ways protect your banking, with the key reminders being that ANZ’s fraud team will never ask you for information the bank already holds, for example customer numbers, credit card numbers or two factor authentication codes.

ANZ will never request remote access to your device.

If you receive an unexpected phone call, voice message, email, or text, you should never provide credit card details, VISA secure codes, two-factor authentication codes, or other confidential information.

We encourage people to hang up and phone back on a publicly listed number if they want to check if the call was genuine.

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