Westpac customers warned over email phishing scam targeting Aussies – NEWS.com.au

Westpac has warned customers of two separate scams currently targeting account holders online.An email with the subject line “Important Message About Your Online Banking” has been sent by scammers to the bank’s customers, with Westpac urging Aussies to be wary.
“This email advises you need to verify your identity due to safety and security requirements,” Westpac explains on its website.
“Both links will take you to a phishing website which may ask for personal information such as online banking log in details &/or credit card details.
“Do not click the links in this email or enter your personal information. Westpac will never ask you to click a link to sign into your online banking. When receiving genuine communications, we will always ask you to sign in securely by typing westpac.com.au into your browser or using the Westpac mobile banking app.”
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A second scam email contains the subject line: “Your Westpac Banking services has been disabled”.
It also contains links to phishing sites and could attempt to steal important personal information from unwitting customers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Scamwatch website has also urged those who receive either email to delete it immediately.
Just last month, the ACCC’s Targeting Scams report revealed Australians lost over $634 million to scams in 2019.
There were more than 353,000 combined reports to Scamwatch, other government agencies and the big four banks last year.
“Unfortunately it is another year with devastatingly high losses, and scammers are constantly finding new ways to defraud Australians,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said at the time.
“This year we have included data from the big four banks which gives a more complete picture of how much people are losing to scams.”
Business email compromise scams accounted for the highest losses in 2019, costing us a combined $132 million.
This was followed by investment scams at $126 million, and dating and romance scams at $83 million.
But Ms Rickard said that estimate was on the conservative side, with the true cost likely to be far greater.
“We know these numbers still vastly understate losses as around one third of people don’t report scam losses to anyone and in the past far fewer scam reports to other agencies have been captured,” she said.

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