Banks are warning people not to give out their passwords, and not to follow links sent by hackers purporting to be their bank, after a man lost more than $40,000. File photo
Photo: 123RF
Bank customers beware is a frequent message this summer as a number of organisations urge New Zealanders to watch out for financial scams.
However one BNZ customer who lost his savings said banks should be doing more to protect people.
It looked like a simple email from his bank and Sam Clayton did not hesitate to respond.
In a flash, $41,000 was stolen from his BNZ account.
“I logged into my BNZ and I just saw half of these accounts were just empty,” he said.
$5000 here, $2000 there, to a variety of different names and accounts.
Money from recently selling the family home, as well as savings from his two-year-old son’s account, all gone.
“It seems like these scams are going on quite often, we’re pretty much in a position where we don’t know where to go from here.”
While about $15,000 quickly bounced back, he was still out of pocket by $18,600.
To make matters worse, he had not heard from the bank in more than a month.
“How easy is communication in this day and age?” he asked.
BNZ said unfortunately because Clayton gave the scammers the code, which gave them access to his account, the bank was unable to return a large part of his stolen money.
In a statement to RNZ, BNZ corporate affairs manager Cliff Joiner said in these instances, the money was impossible to get back.
He…
