How to tell if ANZ is really contacting you

Estimated reading time
 5 min

Key points

• When you’re contacted by someone claiming to be from ‘ANZ’, it can be tricky to determine if it’s legitimate or fake, especially if your phone displays ‘ANZ’.
  
  
• ANZ will never call and ask you to transfer money, share your screen, reveal your passwords, or give your account or personal details.
  
  
• Hanging up and pausing before acting is just one of the steps you can take to help protect yourself from scams.

Many of us interact with our bank regularly, whether we're checking transactions, making payments or managing our finances.

Because banks are a trusted part of everyday life, criminals often impersonate organisations like ANZ to try to steal money or personal information.

“Responding to an ANZ impersonator can be quite devastating,” says Nicholas Walsh, ANZ Cybercrime Specialist. “You can lose a lot of money. It’s a big thing for someone to go through.”

Learning how to recognise an ANZ impersonation scam can help you stay one step ahead.

Why does that message (or call) look like it's from ANZ?

Scammers know people trust organisations like ANZ, so they often try to make their messages and calls look genuine. That's why a scam message or call can sometimes look convincing at first glance.

While industry measures such as the SMS Sender ID Register are designed to make impersonation scams more difficult, it's still important not to rely solely on how a message or call appears.

To stay safe, independently verify unexpected requests before responding.

How do you know it’s actually ANZ reaching out?

It can be hard to spot scams and fraudulent activity. In a genuine ANZ, SMS message or email, we will:

• include information you can validate, like our contact number, the last 4 digits of your card or account, as well as specific transaction information.
• send a pre-call SMS to let you know we’ll be calling.
• leave a voicemail if we don’t reach you.

ANZ will never ask you to:

• share sensitive banking details (like passwords, PINs, ANZ Shield codes or token codes or one-time passcodes [for payment] in an email or SMS).
• click a link to log in to your account.
• grant remote access to your computer, phone, tablet (or any other mobile device).
• transfer money to another account.

5 signs it may be a scammer (not ANZ) contacting you

1. The scammer contacts you unexpectedly and asks for personal or banking information. ANZ will never contact you out of the blue and ask for this sensitive information.
   
   
2. There’s pressure to keep talking. “If anyone from ANZ contacts you, and you’re not feeling comfortable to talk, we won’t push you to keep the conversation going," says Nicholas. If you’re in any way suspicious, he advises that you hang up and call back using the phone number on the back of your banking card or from your statement.
   
   
3. The scammer pressures or threatens you to act quickly. “They’ll try to push you to do something and give you no time to reflect and think on things,” explains Nicholas. "ANZ will never put pressure on you to do something straight away."
   
   
4. They ask for sensitive banking details or instruct you to transfer money to different account. ANZ staff do not need to know your passwords, PINs or one-time passcodes (for payments), nor will they ask you to transfer money into another account.
   
   
5. They contact you for a reason that doesn’t sound quite right. “For example, if they’re calling to say they’ve deposited too much money into your account, ask yourself why ANZ would do that in the first place,” Nicholas explains. “It just doesn’t make sense, so there’s a strong chance it’s a scammer.”

What to do if you think you're dealing with an ANZ impersonation scam

If something doesn’t feel right:

• Stop engaging with the message or caller.
  
  
• Do not click links, download attachments or share information.
  
  
• Verify the request by contacting ANZ through official channels. Do not use contact details provided in the message or by the caller.
  
  
• If you've transferred money or shared financial information, contact ANZ immediately.
  
  
• Report suspected fake ANZ-branded communications to ANZ.

Think you've been scammed by someone pretending to be ANZ?

• Contact ANZ immediately if you suspect fraud on your account or if you’ve shared financial information or transferred money to a scammer. Our Customer Protection Team is available 24/7 to help you.
  
  
• You can use the ANZ Digital Padlock as a last resort lock to prevent digital access and block certain eligible cards if you suspect that someone is trying to access your banking, or if you are experiencing fraud or a potential scam and are unsure of the next steps.
  
  
• You can also report scams to the Australian Government’s Scamwatch and the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s ReportCyber.
  
  
• For additional support with identity or cyber security concerns, you can reach out to IDCare.