Latest scams, fraud and security alerts

 Posted on 12 June 2024

Bank impersonation scam alert

Type:    

How does it work?

We have been made aware of an increase in bank impersonation scams. Be cautious of SMS messages or phone calls, claiming to be from ANZ. They may ask you to transfer money, open another account, provide your sensitive banking details or download software.  

Remember, we will never ask you to:

• Transfer money to another account.
• Open a new account.
• Share sensitive banking details like your access PIN or card details.
• Provide access to your device.
• Share sensitive information like your access PIN or card details.

How to protect yourself

Impersonation scams impersonate not only banks, but government agencies, organisations and even friends or family members. Here are some tips to help you protect yourself:

• Be cautious of unexpected emails or SMS messages, or phone calls, and do not click on any links, or open any attachments.
• Contact your provider/bank immediately on a listed number if you receive a message from someone saying your account is at risk, under review, or locked or if you enter personal details into a link that you suspect is a scam.
• Do not share personal or financial details, and never provide your passwords, account numbers, or one-time passcodes to anyone.
• Always pause and reassess the situation. Scammers often create a sense of urgency, pressuring you to act quickly.

For more information about bank impersonation scams, visit ANZ Security hub – types of scams – bank impersonation scams.

 Posted on 05 June 2024

End of Financial Year Scams

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Individuals should be aware of increased scam activity as sophisticated cyber criminals take advantage of the busy tax period. During this busy time, scammers may use sophisticated tactics to try and catch you off guard. There are various types of scams, and the intent is clear - they want to steal your money or personal information.

Cyber criminals attempt to take advantage of this time of year with tax-related impersonation scams, namely those appearing to originate from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) or other government services such as myGov.

Scammers may impersonate the ATO or myGov and threaten individuals and businesses with tax debt or offer rebates.

Individuals should stay alert to phishing, smishing (SMS phishing) and vishing (phone call phishing) scams. Always verify that requests are authentic before clicking on links, opening attachments or following instructions, particularly when it comes to your finances or personal information.

Otherwise, if you are unsure about the authenticity of a call or message, contact the ATO or applicable government service to verify.

Top tips to help protect yourself during tax time:

• If you receive a request via email, phone or SMS message to change or update payment information, always verify by contacting the supplier directly using contact information that you know is genuine, and not contained within the suspicious communications in question.
• Turn on multi-factor authentication for all essential services such as email, bank, social media accounts and any databases holding personal or customer information.
• Access websites directly by typing the URL into a web browser, rather than clicking on a link.
• Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Pause and verify before acting.

If you receive one of these messages, do NOT click on the link, and delete the message immediately.

 Posted on 30 May 2024

Loyalty points scams

Type:   

We are aware of a new scam targeting customers of loyalty programs of large, well-known Australian companies (including but not limited to airlines, telecommunications and retail companies).

The scam is delivered to customers through a text message or email stating their loyalty points are expiring. This correspondence includes a link to a fake website, which prompts customers to login. Customers may also be asked to provide credit card details to use loyalty points.

If the customer follows the instructions as per the email or text, scammers will steal their points, login details and/or personal information to use on other platforms and commit identity fraud.

Tips to protect yourself from loyalty points scams:

• Don’t click on links included in a text message and be wary of suspicious links contained in emails.
• Always navigate to the company’s app or website independently to check the status of your points.
• Contact the company to confirm whether the correspondence you have received is genuine.

For more information about this scam, visit Scamwatch.

 Posted on 30 May 2024

Term deposit scams

Type:  

How does it work?

Scammers may pose as online product comparison companies, financial firms, or create fake term deposit advertisements with better interest rates.

These fake advertisements can be difficult to spot.  

If you share personal information on these fake websites and advertisements, a scammer might contact you, claiming to work for the promoting company and offer to open an account in your name. If you agree, you’ll be given fraudulent account details, and any money you transfer to this account will end up with the scammer.

How to protect yourself

• Be cautious – if an offer appears too good to be true, it probably is.
  
• Exercise caution when your term deposit matures and you’re looking for new term deposit options.
• Be mindful that online search results may display fake/malicious websites.
• Independently verify with the financial institution that the offer you have found is genuine.  You can do this by calling the financial institution directly.
• Ensure that you confirm that the BSB and account number that you are transferring to are your own, or genuinely from the financial institution you are dealing with. 
• Remember that contact information obtained from websites, via links or email may not be genuine.
• Don’t share any personal information until you’re sure that the site you’re on is real.

 Posted on 30 May 2024

Scams involving the physical collection of (credit /debit) cards

Type:  

How does it work?

We are aware of a new scam involving the collection of physical credit/debit cards. The scam may originate as a phone call, claiming to be your Telco, IT support, or an online payment provider regarding your device being compromised.

The scammer may request you to download remote access software (such as Anydesk or TeamViewer) to ‘clean’ your device. This software enables the collection of your personal information, screensharing and monitoring of your online activity.  

The scammer calls again asking if you have received a call in the last few days requesting you to download remote access software, and that you have likely been hacked.

The scammer may then attempt to convince you to hand over your physical card(s) by claiming that your existing card is compromised and needs to be replaced. They might arrange to collect your physical card(s) from your home by a courier or bank representative.

How to protect yourself

• Never grant remote access or download software when prompted by unsolicited callers.
• Be wary if someone asks you to share your device screen.
• Don’t click on links or download attachments from an unexpected message or email.
• Never hand over your debit/credit cards to anyone, including someone claiming to be from your bank.
• Be suspicious of anyone asking you for personal information or payment. If in doubt, ignore the message, or just hang up.
• If you shared debit/credit card details, block or cancel those cards immediately. If your cards are with ANZ, you can do this through the app

 Posted on 16 April 2024

ANZ impersonation phone scam

Type: 

How does it work?

You may receive a call claiming to be from ANZ asking you to authorise a transaction on your account. The call is commonly delivered as a recorded message (asking you to press 1 to proceed), however, it may also be someone cold calling you posing as an ANZ officer. We have also received reports of this scam being delivered via SMS with a number to call to “confirm” the transaction.

If you respond to the recorded message or contact the number provided in the SMS, you might speak with a scammer who will attempt to trick you into following instructions (e.g. transferring money to a “safe” account) with the objective of stealing your money or personal details.

ANZ will never ask you to share sensitive banking details (like your password, PINs, ANZ Shield code or one-time passcode (OTP) for payment in an email or SMS), click a link to log in to your account, grant remote access to your computer or device or transfer money to another account.

How to protect yourself

• Hang up on suspicious callers claiming to be your bank.
• Call your bank on the number listed on their official website or on the back of your card to confirm whether a call or message is real. Don’t call the number on the message.
• If you receive a call from the bank asking you to transfer funds to another account, don’t do it!

 Posted on 05 June 2024

High alert from the Australian Signals Directorate's Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD's ACSC)

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What is this alert?

The ASD's ACSC has published a high alert regarding increased cyber threat activity affecting Snowflake customer environments.

The ASD’s ACSC is aware of successful compromises of several companies utilising Snowflake environments.

How to protect yourself

ASD’s ACSC encourages Australian organisations who utilise Snowflake to reset credentials for active accounts, disable non-active accounts, enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and review user activity.

Snowflake has also published an advisory to assist in identifying instances of unauthorised access.

For more information, please read the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s alert, Increased cyber threat activity targeting Snowflake customers. 

 Posted on 05 June 2024

High alert from the Australian Signals Directorate's Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD's ACSC)

Type: 

What is this alert?

The ASD's ACSC has published a high alert regarding a vulnerability in Check Point’s Quantum Security Gateway devices that enables access of sensitive information to an unauthorised actor.

The ASD’s ACSC is aware of active exploitation of vulnerable instances.

How to protect yourself

ASD’s ACSC encourages Australian organisations to review their networks for use of vulnerable instances of Check Point’s Quantum Security Gateway and implement the mitigation advice provided by the vendor.

A hotfix for the vulnerability is available, and the ASD’s ACSC strongly recommends that affected Australian organisations patch this vulnerability as a matter of high priority.

For more information, please read the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s alert, CVE-2024-24919 - Check Point Security Gateway Information Disclosure.

 Posted on 16 April 2024

The Australian Signals Directorate's Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD's ACSC) has published a critical alert

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The ASD's ACSC has published a critical alert regarding vulnerabilities affecting Palo Alto’s PAN-OS 10.2, PAN-OS 11.0, and PAN-OS 11.1 firewalls.

According to the ASD’s ACSC, the vulnerability can result in an unauthenticated attacker executing arbitrary code with root privileges on the firewall.

The ASD’s ACSC has stated that Australian organisations who have a Palo Alto Threat Prevention subscription can block attacks for this vulnerability by enabling Threat ID 95187.

For more information, please read the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s alert, OS Command Injection Vulnerability in GlobalProtect Gateway.