Urgent warning as tens of THOUSANDS of Australian banking customers have their personal information HACKED - and now fraudsters are coming for your money
- Hackers stole information like names, phone numbers, and accounts numbers
- Information used to trick customers into handing over passwords to steal cash
- Fraudsters broke into the New Payments Platform database which holds this info
- Details aren't enough to access accounts unless users fall for the trick
Fraudsters have hacked into thousands of people's banking information and are using it to scam millions of dollars.
Westpac issued an urgent warning to customers that they could be targeted by phishing scams via phone or text messages.
'We have heightened monitoring on your account and ask that you are on the lookout for any suspicious activity,' it said in an email to customers.
Westpac issued an urgent warning to customers that they could be targeted by phishing scams via phone or text messages
'We ask that you also be vigilant with any messages received via text or phone calls from an unidentified source.'
The bank said customers of other banks were also affected and it had notified all its customers of the security breach.
'We are urging all customers to be wary of any SMS phishing attempts – for example, a personalised message which looks like a legitimate message from Westpac or another bank, in an attempt to acquire banking credentials and password,' it said.
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Westpac was targeted by another attack in June where seven automated accounts looked up 98,000 PayIDs over six weeks looking for data.
National Australia Bank also appeared to have been targeted in the latest hack as customers, even those of other banks, reported receiving texts claiming to be from NAB.
The texts asked the customer to hand over banking account information, which would then be used to fleece them of their cash.
National Australia Bank (chairman Ken Henry pictured) also appeared to have been targeted as customers, even those of other banks, reported receiving texts claiming to be from NAB
The Commonwealth Bank also told its customers they could be targeted after 'a sophisticated attack on another financial institution'.
'[We are] proactively contacting customers whose personal information has been disclosed to a third party through a sophisticated PayID scam,' it said.
Fraudsters hacked the New Payments Platform database and gained access to the PayID details of tens of thousands of customers.
Information stolen included customers' names, phone numbers, BSB, and account numbers - leaving fraudsters only needing passwords to loot accounts.
The NPP confirmed customers' accounts were safe unless they fell for phishing attempts and handed over passwords or other data that could be used to break in.
'None of the details involved can, on their own, enable the withdrawal of funds from a customer's account without the customer's specific further involvement,' it said.
The NPP was brought in last year to streamline bank transfers so money could be moved instantly at any time.
Customers would no longer need to send their account numbers - just a linked phone number, email, or ABN.
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