Kiwis are being warned about a highly sophisticated scam in which crooks disguise themselves as bank workers and pretend to combat fraud.
New Zealand children’s book author Malcolm Clarke has posted a viral video warning of the scam, which aims to swindle money from Kiwis’ accounts.
Clarke, who goes by malcolm_credits on Tik Tok, says he cancelled his Kiwibank card when he noticed strange transactions from his account. He was then told by Kiwibank that their fraud department would look into it.
Clarke then received a no caller ID phone call from the scammers claiming to be from Kiwibank asking for his access code. When Clarke then got suspicious of the anonymous caller the scammer then called back on an 0800 number asking for passwords and the answers to his security questions.
Clarke told The New Zealand Herald he is lucky he didn’t fall for the scam but is worried others might.
“I’m in a lucky position but I’m worried as scams escalate, especially for those who are less digitally experienced and more vulnerable”
Kiwibank is urging customers to be watchful and a spokesperson said these scams are particularly convincing as scammers often claim to be from a bank’s fraud or cyber security team which can catch customers off-guard and make the questions seem more legitimate.
Scammers may say they are asking for security information but what they actually want is to steal your personal information, the spokesperson said.
Netsafe’s Sean Lyons said scams similar to the…