NAB Executive for Regional and Agribusiness Khan Horne discusses some of the latest scams businesses should be alert to and how to protect themselves….
As rural and regional businesses embrace artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline their operations, criminals are exploiting the very same tools to launch increasingly sophisticated cons.
Despite new NAB data showing a 27pc drop in total customer scam losses across Personal Banking (PB), Business Banking (BB) and Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB) in the past six months, scams remain an enormous threat to our business customers.
Investment scams are causing the highest financial losses to NAB customers, and AI is used in many of them.
Investment scams typically involve promises of quick, high returns that are much higher than current market offerings, with claims of low risk.
Criminals use AI to create what look like realistic videos and audio recordings featuring high-profile personalities, industry identities and in some cases, politicians. We have also seen a high-quality, professionally produced glossy prospectus mailed out to customers for a scam investment.
If someone contacts you out of the blue promoting an investment opportunity and it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.
Scams are always evolving, but there are some tried and true ways to protect yourself. Always verify the information you’re given, look at where it’s coming from, and what it’s asking you to do. Stop, check and protect.
When it comes to investment scams, another way to protect yourself and your business is to use the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) investor alert list, which includes suspicious companies, businesses and websites to look out for.
Seek independent legal advice and financial advice from a financial advisor who has an Australian Financial Services licence and is registered with ASIC.
This is best practice, and NAB bankers are consistently advising customers to do so.
Remote access scams, where cyber-criminals convince you to download an app or software which gives them control of a device, also pose a serious threat to business.
Red flags to watch out for include pop-up message appearing on your computer or device, alerting you to a technology issue. They might also start with a phone call, telling you you’ve got an issue with your device, your banking or your internet.
Then you’ll be asked to either share access to your computer or download some special software to share access. They might also ask you to transfer your money to keep it safe.
Your money never needs to be transferred anywhere to keep it safe – it’s safe in your account.
You should not action any request for remote access made by a caller, even if they claim to be from your bank or computer service provider.
Equally, businesses must remain vigilant against invoice scams, where criminals alter bank account details to redirect payments.
They involve criminals impersonating trusted organisations and sending emails either by hacking into email accounts or sending emails that look very similar to the real thing. These criminals are banking on you not noticing it has been sent by them with altered bank account details on an invoice.
To protect yourself, make sure your business email accounts have multi-factor authentication (MFA) where possible, to prevent anyone external to the business logging in and sending emails from your account.
Have a process in place to validate any requests for new accounts or changes to existing accounts by calling a known or publicly listed number of the business they’re coming from.
Using Confirmation of Payee (CoP) when doing internet banking or using our app is another way to protect yourself.
These are just three of the scams our business customers continue to encounter. We encourage everyone to remain vigilant, and remember to stop, check and protect yourself.
To help you identify and avoid scams, NAB has developed this free toolkit available to everyone: Security tips for your business | Free toolkit and help guides – NAB