How card collection scams work

Phase 1: Trust

Fraudsters nefariously impersonate trusted organisations (like financial institutions, telcos and IT companies) to convince unsuspecting victims that their bank accounts, phones, and computers are at risk.

Be careful: Bank First will never ask you to place anything in your letterbox.

Phase 2: Urgency

They create fear and urgency, making their victims feel like they have to act quickly, not allowing them to stop, think and protect themselves.

Be calm: Bank First will almost never call you. If you do receive a call from Bank First, inform the caller that you are going to hang up and ring them back on the phone number associated with our website.

Phase 3: Fear

Common card collection scams center around a supposed threat that your card has been compromised and is no longer secure. Often they will claim this is due to the card being skimmed, scanned, damaged, or used for illegal activities.

Be confident: Any card in your possession is safe and secure. Bank First will never ask to clean or reconfigure a card. We won’t ask for you return a card to us, for any reason, either.

Phase 4: The Action

Once a scammer has gained your trust, and created sufficient urgency and fear, they will then get you to take action.

In card collection scams, this involves getting your PIN and asking that you place your credit / debit card in your letterbox for them to collect, clean or replace.

From there, they’ll go about draining your accounts as quickly as possible, with very little ability to track them down or seek recourse.

Be cautious: If you think you have been scammed, contact Bank First immediately. We can pause and cancel cards, giving you peace of mind and limiting any potential financial loss while you work out what has happened.

What we’ve seen

Impersonation scams like credit card collection have been a consistent threat to Australians for decades. They continue to pose a threat to older, vulnerable members of society but can strike anyone.

Trusted professions fraudsters claim to regularly be are IT specialists (think employees form Microsoft, Apple or Anti Virus Software companies), Financial Institutions (Banks, PayPal), and Telecommunications Companies (Telstra, Optus).

What you should know

Bank First or your phone company will never ask you to:

• disclose your PIN

• leave your card out to be collected

• withdraw cash from your account

• transfer money to another account to keep it secure.

What to do if you think you’ve been scammed

If you think you’ve been scammed and potentially lost money or given personal banking information to someone you should not have, please contact our friendly customer service team on 1300 654 822 immediately. Alternatively, report a scam or fraud using our online form.