NAB bank announces changes to the way they contact customers: Here’s what it means for you
- NAB will remove links in text messages
- It is a bid to combat scams and fraud
NAB Bank will stop sending links in text messages to customers as part of a plan to crack down on rampant scams and fraud.
Last year, the major bank sent 112 million text messages to customers, many of which contained links intending to notify them of matters such as when an account is about to be overdrawn or a new debit card has been posted.
Links in text messages will now be replaced with advice directing customers to the bank’s website, to call the bank, or log on to Internet Banking or the NAB App.
It is the latest move by the bank to fight criminal activity, with more than 60 projects reported to be completed or underway to help address the impact of widespread scams and fraud.
NAB has advised that in some circumstances customers may still receive a link – such as domestic violence or hardship support for a vulnerable customer – ‘where other channels of communication may not be possible or appropriate’.
NAB has announced it will cease the use of links in unexpected texts to customers in a bid to crack down on scams and fraud
NAB CEO Ross McEwan said the bank was 95 per cent of the way through removing the use of links in text messages and was aiming to complete the initiative by the end of this month.
‘Our aim is to make it as simple as we can for customers to know whether a message from NAB is legitimate,’ Mr McEwan said.
‘My advice is don’t click on a link. If you get an unexpected text message that looks like it’s from NAB and it contains a link, don’t click on it’.
Mr McEwen said many scammers ‘are part of transnational, organised crime gangs and will always look for new ways to rip people off’.
‘That’s why we continue to encourage all Australians to stay alert, curious and educated.’
In 2022, 47 per cent of Australians reported being exposed to scams via text message
NAB is urging the public to contact their bank and Scamwatch immediately if they suspect they have fallen prey to a scam.
Two thirds of Australians aged 15 years and over were exposed to a scam in 2021-22 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, up from 55 per cent in the previous year.
People were most commonly exposed to a scam over the phone (48 per cent) or by text message, with exposure via text message doubling from 23 per cent in 2020-21 to 47 per cent in 2021-22.
