Common scams

SIM swap fraud is where scammers try to steal your mobile phone number and take control of it. They do this to gain access to the secure two-factor authentication codes sent to your phone, which are often used to verify your identity for things like online banking.

These scammers might surprise you – sometimes all they need is your name, phone number, and date of birth – which can be surprisingly easy to find on social media or obtained through a phishing scam. With this information, they could try and convince your phone provider to switch your number to a new SIM card they control (known as a "SIM swap").

To protect yourself against SIM swap fraud, keep an eye out for your phone going into 'SOS only' mode unexpectedly, or any unexpected messages from your telephone provider saying that you have requested for your mobile number to be transferred.

If you suspect you may have fallen victim to one of these scams, contact your telco provider immediately, and contact your bank and any other important providers to ensure nothing suspicious has taken place.

Unfortunately, elder financial abuse is a very real concern. It can happen when someone, whether a stranger, a caregiver, or even a trusted family member or friend, takes advantage of an older person for financial gain. This abuse can involve stealing money or possessions, like their home or savings, and often uses tactics like forgery, lies, misrepresentation or manipulation to trick the victim.

If you're concerned about elder financial abuse, the Australian Banking Association has a helpful resource called "Safe & Savvy: A guide to help older people avoid abuse, scams and fraud". We encourage you to read it to learn more about protecting yourself or your loved ones.

Phishing scams are intended to look like legitimate communications from well-known companies such as your bank, phone company, or even one of your Facebook friends. They can come through email, text, and social media posts or messages.

The scammers try to trick you into giving up personal information by making the message seem urgent or important. They might say there's a problem with your account and ask you to click a link to "verify" your details.  Sometimes they're simpler, like a message about a fake package delivery, but clicking the link could install malware on your device.

Here's some ways to identify a phishing scam:

• Check the sender's email address closely. Real companies almost always use their own domain name in their email address (like "@bcu.com.au" for BCU Bank). Free email addresses like "@gmail.com" are a big red flag.
• Beware of urgency. Phishing scams often create a sense of urgency to pressure you into acting quickly without thinking.
• Don't click suspicious links. Never click on links in messages you weren't expecting, even if it seems to come from a friend.
• Look for typos and grammatical errors. These are common in phishing scams, so a poorly written message is a warning sign.

If you're unsure if a message is real, contact the company directly using a phone number or website you know is legitimate (don't trust the contact information in the message itself).

Remember, BCU Bank will never ask you to supply your personal information or login details via an unsecure email attachment, and we will never send a link via text directing you to login to internet banking.

Watch out for phone scams! Scammers often pretend to be from your bank, the tax office, phone company, or other trusted organizations. They might try to trick you into giving up personal or banking information, or even request a money transfer or immediate payment.

Please be aware that BCU Bank will never ask you to transfer money over the phone to fix an error.

If you receive a call from someone claiming to be a BCU employee and you're unsure if it's legitimate, don't share any banking or personal information. Instead, ask for the caller's name and write down the phone number they called from. Then, hang up and call our contact centre on 1300 228 228.