With nearly two thirds of Australian's using mobile banking as their top method for managing money, protecting your security online is more important than ever.
In 2023, Australians lost a reported total of $455,436,239 to thieves through scams.
Phishing scams were the most predominant, where a scammer contacts you pretending to be from a legitimate business such as a bank, telephone or internet service provider or Government organisation. You may be contacted by email, social media, phone call, or text message.
The ACCC's Scamwatch is a trustworthy resource to keep up to date on the latest scams and current hoaxes trying to steal your personal information.
Orange Credit Union encourages members to stay vigilant with the follow tips to protect your identity online:
Keep in regular contact with your financial institution
If you are receiving emails from your financial institution and you’re not sure if they are genuine, contact your financial institution and ask them. Chances are, if emails from your bank or credit union relate to loans, refinancing, interest rates, mortgage or home loan rates or the like, they could very well be genuine. If an email appears to be from your bank or credit union, but the email isn’t the same quality, uses misshapen or grainy images or is asking you to provide your member number and internet banking password from within the email, contact your bank or credit union immediately. They should be able to verify if the email was genuine or not.
Never open an email from someone you don’t recognise or click any links in an email that you suspect is fraudulent
Hackers and scammers can attempt to infiltrate your machine and steal your personal information by loading viruses on your device. Emails that contain such viruses usually ask you to click on links or provide your personal information as verification of your identity. Downloading attachments from these emails can also deliver the virus to your device which can freeze your files or provide them remote access to your device. If you receive an email from an unknown person or an institution that you don’t bank with, delete the email immediately and then delete it from your deleted items.
Never keep a copy of your PIN with your card (or anywhere)
It is important to keep your PIN number safe and never to keep a copy of it in your wallet. Your PIN should never be shared with anyone and is a number that you can easily remember without it being directly related to your birthdate, birth year or anything else easily identifiable by others.
Check your transactions regularly
It’s important to regularly check your transactions or account statements regularly so you can pick up any potentially fraudulent transactions as soon as possible. Even transactions from trusted companies like APPLE ITUNES AUSTRALIA can look authentic, but might be fake.
Our team is here to help
If you’d like any further tips or support with keeping your personal information safe with Orange Credit Union, follow us on social media, come along to our annual Stay Safe Forum or contact our Member Banking Specialists.
