With scams becoming increasingly sophisticated, it's important to stay informed about how to protect your personal information.
In 2020 Australians lost $128 million to scams, with new scams emerging every day. It is important that you take steps to safeguard your personal information and accounts. Here are our top tips to protect your password and PIN:
Safeguard your PIN
You can protect your PIN and reduce the chances of card fraud by making sure you:
- Cover the keypad when entering your PIN at an ATM of EFTPOS terminal
- Commit your PIN to memory and don't keep a record in your wallet, mobile or computer
- Select a unique PIN and avoid popular or obvious number sequences (e.g. 1234, 2468)
- Keep your PIN secret and never lend your card to anyone or leave it unattended
- Check your statements and contact us immediately if you detect any unusual activity as you may be responsible for unauthorised transactions as outlined in the ePayments Code
Use strong passwords
Be sure to pick a strong password that would be difficult for others to guess, incorporating letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers and symbols. You should also avoid using the same password across multiple accounts and update your passwords regularly, so you can be confident that even if one account is compromised your other accounts are secure.
Keep your documents safe
A lot of identity fraud still starts with the theft of documents, from the mailbox or bin. Limit the amount of mail you receive that contains private information and dispose of these documents carefully. Swap to online statements with MOVE Bank at any time by selecting ‘Online Statements’ from the ‘Accounts’ menu in Internet Banking.
What do I do if I think I’ve been scammed?
If you’ve sent money or shared your bank details with a scammer, please contact us immediately on 1300 362 216. For more information about scams, visit scamwatch.gov.au.
* Source: Scamwatch: Scam Statistics 2020
