Fraudsters on track to get $70m out of Kiwis by Xmas
New Zealanders are now dealing with 15 per cent more scams than they were a year ago and will have lost $70 million to scammers by Christmas, the Banking Ombudsman estimates.
‘‘Scams are getting more prevalent and more sophisticated,’’ Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden said. ‘‘We’ve definitely seen an increase in invoice cases this year.’’
These involve a scammer hacking into a legitimate company’s email accounts. The scammer sees when client payments are due and emails the client a fake invoice. The logo, signature and format look identical to the company’s, but the bank account number on the fake invoice actually belongs to the scammer.
In a recent case that went to the Banking Ombudsman, a builder received an invoice that appeared to be from a subcontractor. Thinking it was genuine, the builder paid the money into the designated account. But the subcontractor’s system had been hacked and the invoice was a fake.
By the time the builder realised his funds had gone to the scammer’s account, the transaction could not be reversed.
‘‘Law firms, real estate agents and construction companies seem to be the most common targets for invoice scams, possibly because they invoice for larger sums of money,’’ Sladden said.
‘‘Most bank account terms and conditions require the customer to check all details are correct before authorising and confirming an online payment. So keep invoice scams in mind if you receive large unexpected payment requests by email.
‘‘Even if you are expecting it, ring your lawyer, real estate agent or subcontractor on their publicly listed number to double check the bank account number you are paying.’’
Telco scams are also on the rise. In another case the scheme dealt with a scammer called the complainant on a Friday afternoon, pretending to be from Spark and offering to protect her bank accounts after a security breach.
The scammer obtained remote access to her computer and made two international payments. The bank sent the complainant text verification codes to authenticate the transactions. But the complainant was groomed by the scammer to read the information in the text messages to him.
He kept the complainant on the phone until after 5pm. Even though the correct codes had been entered, the bank decided to call the customer to check. The bank staff member wasn’t able to get through to the complainant’s phone because the scammer kept her on the line. By the time the bank got through, it was too late.