Bendigo Bank opens online safety lessons to secondary schools

As students across Australia prepare to start the new school year, Bendigo Bank has expanded its Banking Safely Online program to secondary schools to help empower young digital citizens.

Specifically tailored to high school students, the face-to-face sessions cover how to identify and avoid scams, spot financial fraud risks, and adopt secure practises for online banking transactions.

“Secondary school students face a flood of would-be scammers, fraud attempts and other potentially serious challenges online,” says Aaron Westberry, Senior Manager Customer Protection at Bendigo Bank.

“The Banking Safely Online in Schools sessions are empowering, interactive and highly relevant for younger people.

“While highly tech savvy, more than $2 million has been lost to scammers by Australians under 18 since 2020, data from Scamwatch shows, and our younger customers have been asking how we can help,” Mr Westberry says.

Online shopping and classifieds scams caused the highest financial losses for those aged under 18 last year, with social media, text message and emails the top contact methods used by scammers, Scamwatch found.

The Bank’s national, face-to-face education approach has already helped thousands of customers safely navigate digital banking since the program was launched in 2023.

“Banking Safely Online is our flagship safety program with more than 250 sessions held by branches for their customers and communities. Bringing this to schools across Australia will help empower young digital citizens,” says Mr Westberry.

In the excitement of starting the new school year, Mr Westberry says it vital to beware of scammers using increasingly sophisticated tactics, and to be particularly alert to scammers capitalising on the back-to-school rush.

“This is an exciting, busy time of year but it’s important to never let the guard down against scammers who will be trying their best to catch out unsuspecting students and their families,” Mr Westberry says.

"Be wary of back to school promotions on social media, especially those that sound too good to be true. Don’t click on links that you aren’t 100 per cent sure about, and beware calls and texts from people you don’t know who are requesting information – it could be a remote access scam.”

Stopping scammers in their tracks: Tips for school students

• Fake news? Check, is the website real, or is the caller or texter really who they say they are?
• Don't skip the ‘enable multi-factor authentication’ step, your best defence against increasingly sophisticated scammers.
• Beware remote access scams, which often target young people. Never provide personal or log in information via phone or text to unsolicited contacts.
• Be very suspicious. Don’t click on any links in emails or texts that you are unsure about.
• Too good to be true? If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!
• Time is of the essence. Report any suspicious activity to your bank immediately.

The 30-minute Banking Safely Online in Schools classes are delivered by teams at Bendigo Bank’s more than 400 branches. Teachers, administrators, parents and students are encouraged to enquire with their local Bendigo Bank branch to have a Banking Safely Online session for their secondary students.