Be alert to common scams
Stay one step ahead of scammers by knowing what to look out for.
With scammers becoming more sophisticated, it’s important to understand how common scams work and what to do if you have been impacted.
Suncorp Bank staff impersonation scams
Suncorp Bank customers are being targeted by offenders via various contact methods, claiming to be from Suncorp Bank.
These impersonators contact our customers with urgent messages, usually getting them to take action on something to do with their Suncorp Bank account or their finances in general.
They do this to try and obtain their personal information or finances, often through bank transfers or linking to fraudulent websites.
Common forms of contact
Social media
Scammers set up fake profiles on social media, messaging platforms and apps, pretending to represent Suncorp Bank staff, a branch or our brand. There’s also the potential for them to learn a lot about you from details you share on your social media accounts.
SMS
Scammers SMS your mobile number, usually with an urgent ‘call to action’ involving your finances, potentially referencing your Suncorp Bank account.
Phone calls
Scammers call, claiming to be from Suncorp Bank. To convince you to take urgent action, they sometimes claim to be from our ‘Fraud Team’.
Scammers send 'urgent' emails pretending to be from Suncorp Bank. These emails can sometimes resemble Suncorp Bank branding, but the sender does not have the email address ending in ‘@suncorp.com.au.’
Examples of scam messages
While scammers aim to obtain your personal banking and financial information, their deceptive messages can take various forms. These may include:
- alerting you to suspicious or fraudulent activity on your bank accounts and urging you to click a link to a fraudulent website to "secure your account"
- claiming a large sum of money is pending transfer to your account and requesting personal information to facilitate the transaction
- informing you of a missed call from a supposed Suncorp Bank employee and instructing you to call a non-Suncorp Bank number
- notifying you that your bank cards have been suspended and providing a non-Suncorp Bank number for more information
- supplying links for you to verify your personal information
- posing as friends or family members and requesting money transfers
How to tell if it is really Suncorp Bank
We have strong security measures in place, but it’s also important for you to know how to protect yourself.
Remember that we NEVER:
- ask you to share your Internet Banking or Suncorp Bank app password over the phone
- send you text messages or emails asking you to confirm, update or disclose personal or banking information
- ask you to verify your details, reset your account or supply any personal information via email
- ask you to provide remote access to any of your devices.
What do if you do if you’ve been approached by a scammer
If you've been contacted by a scammer claiming to be from Suncorp Bank, follow these steps:
How we protect you from fraud and scams
Keeping you safe from fraud and scams is important to us. We work hard every day to monitor and protect your accounts from suspicious activity, particularly from remote access scams. Here’s what you need to be aware of and how you can help keep yourself secure.
[Paul Gardner]
Suncorp Bank works hard every day to protect our customers from fraud and scams. Our priority is our customers wellbeing. Because we have seen the devastating impact scams has on victims, we invest heavily in detection capability and we have a dedicated team that monitors customers’ accounts for any suspicious activity. Whilst we make every effort to prevent customers being victims of scams, when we detect that a scam has occurred, we make every effort to recover those funds. Recovery can be incredibly difficult due to the sophistication of scammers and how they shift money. Remote Assistance scams are the fastest growing scam event we're seeing. And this is where an offender contacts you purporting to be from an organisation you might trust and seeking access to your device and your Internet Banking. Do not provide access to any person remotely to your device. Suncorp Bank will never ask you to provide remote access to your device and subsequently your internet banking. We'll also never ask you to share your one time password and you should never do so. Never feel pressured to share your personal information with anyone. And remember, it's okay to hang up. Things you can do to protect yourself include logging in and lowering your transfer limit, changing your password regularly, not storing your password or any other sensitive information anywhere, using a pin or FaceID to log in and monitoring your accounts regularly. If you see anything suspicious, call us immediately. Customers can get more information by logging onto the Suncorp Bank website and getting access to IDcare, SCAMwatch or Equifax. If you see anything suspicious or you feel you might be the victim of a scam, or your loved ones, call 13 11 75 immediately. Remember, we're in this fight against scammers together.