The NZ Superannuation Fund has reported incidents of scammers impersonating the fund online in a bid to defraud people of their money. The cons involve offering savers access to cryptocurrency investments. There was also an incident whereby the scammers used fake names and images to appeal for investments in the name of the fund.
Some of the interactions have been undertaken using social media accounts on platforms like Facebook. The accounts have since been taken down, with the complainants having made relevant reports to the police and their banks. The Super Fund has confirmed that they do not offer investments or cryptocurrencies to individuals.
In the event you are approached by such scammers, the fund recommends not engaging with them. They also encourage all members of the public to make note of the advice offered by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), CERT, Netsafe and other cyber security organisations on how to avoid falling victim to such scams and report the incidents.
A recent survey of Westpac customers found that 87% had received a suspicious phone call, text or email in the last six months. About half of respondents also confirmed finding it increasingly difficult to determine if the communications were scams. According to Westpac NZ head of financial crime, Mark Coxhead, the scams were becoming more sophisticated, with the number of incidents having doubled over the past year.
Coxhead said that impersonation scams were on the rise, with scammers pretending to be from a bank or government agency. He said scammers were using personal information sourced from online research to make themselves appear more legitimate and making it harder for customers to see through the ruse. The bank highlighted an incident whereby the scammers were in possession of personal information including the customer’s names, phone numbers, and credit card numbers. This helped to gain the victim’s trust and dupe them into authorising an online transaction.
Westpac is urging its customers to be on the lookout for signs that communication could be fraudulent. This may include calls with a sense of urgency and the use of unusual payment methods. Members of the public are also being advised to never give out their pins or codes, especially if requested on phone.
CERT NZ has confirmed that though the number of cyber scam incidents did fall during the second quarter of 2022, the financial losses incurred had risen to $3.9 million. They noted the phone spoofing scam calls were a large contributor to the problem. The scammers would pretend to call from the bank in a bid to get victims to share financial information or grant access to their bank accounts or computers. Phone spoofing software would be used to change the phone number of the scammer caller to appear like it was the bank calling.
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