Bendigo Bank introduces additional impersonation scam prevention measures

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has introduced additional impersonation scam prevention measures set to limit criminals’ ability to misrepresent communications as coming from the Bank.

The Bank has added key phone and fax numbers; including those belonging to more than 400 Bendigo Bank locations; to a ‘do not originate’ list with its telco provider, which will help prevent scammers from impersonating Australia’s most trusted bank.

Head of Customer Protection, Jason Gordon, says that while there is no ‘silver bullet,’ that these latest measures are a continuation of the Bank’s investment to deliver improved protections for its 2.5 million customers. In the financial year ending 30 June 2024, the Bank stopped $34.4 million in fraudulent transactions.

“Preventing criminals from using these phone and fax numbers will help reduce instances of criminals trying to impersonate Bendigo Bank representatives, but customers should always remain vigilant and beware of scams,” Mr Gordon said.

Mr Gordon said bank impersonation scams designed to trick the recipient into transferring money, or into providing personal information or banking details such as account numbers, passwords, and one-time codes remained popular with criminals.

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

Scammers are also using ‘spoofing’ to trick victims, with Australians reporting more than 164,700 phone and text scams in 2023, totalling losses of more than $142.9 million in 2023, according to Scamwatch.

“Spoofing is when phone calls appear to come from legitimate numbers and SMS messages appear in the same conversation thread as genuine communications, making it more likely a victim will answer their call or interact with a text,” he said.

“It also makes it very difficult for customers to detect genuine communications. Bank impersonation scams really erode the trust in bank communications, making it difficult for us to contact our customers when we need to, and they put pressure on our customers to try to discern what’s real and what’s a scam,” Mr Gordon said.

“Please remember the Bank will never ask for your details, or to transfer money, download software or login via a link sent through email or SMS,” Mr Gordon said.

“If you are speaking to someone claiming to be from Bendigo Bank and you are unsure if the caller is legitimate, hang up and contact us directly on 1300 236 344,” he said.