Urgent warning as tens of THOUSANDS of banking customers have had their personal information hacked into by fraudsters
Fraudsters have hacked into thousands of people’s banking information and are using them to scam millions of dollars.
Westpac issued an urgent warning to customers that they could be targeted by phishing scams via phone or text messages.
‘We have heightened monitoring on your account and ask that you are on the lookout for any suspicious activity,’ it said in an email to customers.
‘We ask that you also be vigilant with any messages received via text or phone calls from an unidentified source.’
Westpac issued an urgent warning to customers that they could be targeted by phishing scams via phone or text messages
The bank said customers of other banks were also affected and it had notified all its customers of the security breach.
‘We are urging all customers to be wary of any SMS phishing attempts – for example, a personalised message which looks like a legitimate message from Westpac or another bank, in an attempt to acquire banking credentials and password,’ it said.
National Australia Bank also appeared to have been targeted as customers, even those of other banks, reported receiving texts claiming to be from NAB.
The texts asked the customer to hand over banking account information, which would then be used to fleece them of their cash.
Fraudsters hacked the New Payments Platform database and gained access to the PayID details of tens of thousands of customers.
Information stolen included customers’ names, phone numbers, BSB, and account numbers – leaving fraudsters only needing passwords to loot accounts.
The NPP was brought in last year to streamline bank transfers so money could be moved instantly at any time.
Customers would no longer need to send their account numbers – just a linked phone number, email, or ABN.