“You can check the number that I’m calling you from today.”
To some, it may sound like a bank worker simply helping a customer, but the reality is something far more sinister.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Fraudster’s failed scam call exposes red flags.
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The comment was used by a scammer trying to convince a Westpac customer to hand over their details as heard in a recording of the call released by the bank on Wednesday. The bank says it’s a red flag.
Impersonation scams are among the most common scams currently targeting customers, according to new Westpac data.
Westpac on Wednesday became the first Australian private business to block calls from scammers impersonating the bank, with more than 94,000 Westpac phone numbers now added to a “do not originate list”.
The move will stop scammers from impersonating the numbers and using them to fleece money from unsuspecting customers.
Westpac head of fraud Ben Young said there has been a significant increase in scammers using software to mask their phone number with the number of a known business – a tactic known as “call spoofing”.
“These scams are incredibly challenging to detect because from the customer’s perspective, they appear to be getting a call from say Westpac, when in fact, it’s a scammer posing as a member of our…
