Bendigo and Adelaide Bank warns of impersonation scams

Criminals pose as bank brands to phish money and banking information.

Australia’s Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has warned of impersonation scams.

These scams reportedly impersonate bank brands, like Bendigo Bank, with criminals posing as cyber security or fraud specialists, the bank wrote in a press release. 

It could be via phone call, SMS, email, or even via a social media post, search engine result, or advertisement, the bank warned.

The bank’s head of fraud, Jason Gordon, touted bank impersonation scams as the new wave of phishing scams.

“Criminals are getting adept at carefully constructing often complex communications that convincingly mirror those of the brand they are impersonating,” Gordon said.

The messages are said to often contain a sense of urgency or threat such as “your bank account has been accessed” or “your bank account has been locked” or even “a payment has been made from your account. If this was not you, please call [phone number].”

The message may also be different to other messages in the SMS thread, such as different wording or phrases used; or may contain a suspicious looking link, which the bank warned against clicking.

A caller telling you to transfer money to a different account to ‘keep it safe’ or for ‘further investigation’ may also be the work of scammers. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank reminded customers that a bank will never ask a customer to do this.