The BNZ won't say if a scammed woman will get her money back
The Bank of New Zealand won’t say if a Te Kūiti woman scammed out of thousands of dollar will get her money back.
The News revealed last week the woman, described by police as elderly, fell victim to a hoax caller and gave out details of her account thinking she was talking to a bank staff member.
The thief took $48,000 from her account.
Though the woman has not been identified, the bank has declined to say whether or not she would see her money again – unless she signed a privacy waiver.
The bank spokesperson said scammers posing as employees of banks or other financial institutions now regularly aimed to get personal information, banking credentials, or money from people.
Our sister paper, the Te Awamutu News, reported through its weekly columnist Community Constable Ryan Fleming this week that there had been several scams targeting users of the Facebook marketplace site in the last week.
The BNZ spokesperson said bank account scammers would send “urgent-sounding messages” or make calls, often purportedly from the bank’s ‘fraud’ department, to create a sense of panic and prompt immediate action.
“They are often variations of “your bank account has been accessed”, or “a payment has been made from your account. If this was not you, call us urgently on xxx”, the spokesperson said.
Police said in the Te Kūiti case the woman was contacted in an early evening call by a scammer posing as a BNZ employee.
The scammer persuaded her to link her with one of her BNZ bank accounts, from which the money was then withdrawn.
The BNZ spokesperson said such scams could be convincing, but there were some key things people could do to keep themselves safe, including:
Don’t click on links or open attachments sent by someone you don’t know or seem out of character for someone you do know. Hover your mouse over links to reveal the actual site.
If it doesn’t seem right, hang up and contact your bank immediately on the number on their official website, or the number on the back of your card.
Urgency is a red flag – scammers will try to rush you.
Banks will never ask for your bank account details, password or pin number, nor will they send you a text message with a link asking you to log in.
Contact your bank as soon as possible if you think you’ve been scammed.
Keep your computer and phone security software up to date.
Trust your gut – if it feels wrong, it probably is
