Security Announcement to all Members.

Security Announcement to all Members.

Due to an increase in ‘online’ fraud identified throughout August 2017, Paywise would like to share the following information to all members:

Please note The Australia Competition & Consumer Commission (“ACCC”) are warning of a recent spike in phishing scams identified in Australia. Phishing scams are attempts by scammers to trick victims into giving out personal information such as bank account numbers, credit card numbers and passwords. A scammer will contact you out of the blue (usually via email, social media, phone call or text message) pretending to be from a legitimate business such as a bank, telephone or internet service provider and ask for confirmation of personal details. For example, the scammer may say that the bank or organisation is verifying customer records due to a recent technical error that erased customer data. Alternatively, they may ask the victim to fill out a customer survey and offer a prize for participating.

Paywise takes the security of cardholder information very seriously. As such, we ask that members take note of the following ACCC ‘Warning Signs’ and ‘Actions to Protect Yourself’:

Warning Signs:

  • You receive an email, text or phone call claiming to be from a bank, telecommunications provider or other business you regularly deal with, asking you to update or verify your details.
  • The email or text message does not address you by your proper name, and may contain typing errors and grammatical mistakes.
  • The website address does not look like the address you usually use and is requesting details the legitimate site does not normally ask for.
  • You notice new icons on your computer screen, or your computer is not as fast as it normally is.

Actions

  • Do not click on any links or open attachments from emails claiming to be from your bank or another trusted organisation and asking you to update or verify your details.
  • Do an internet search using the names or exact wording of the email or message to check for any references to a scam – many scams can be identified this way.
  • Look for the secure symbol. Secure websites can be identified by the use of ‘https:’ rather than ‘http:’ at the start of the internet address, or a closed padlock or unbroken key icon at the bottom right corner of your browser window. Legitimate websites that ask you to enter confidential information are generally encrypted to protect your details.
  • Never provide your personal, credit card or online account details if you receive a call claiming to be from your bank or any other organisation. Instead, ask for their name and contact number and make an independent check with the organisation in question before calling back.

 

If a cardholder believes their account details have been compromised, please contact Paywise as soon as possible. To assist us in warning our other members against current scams, monitor trends and disrupt scams where possible, please also include details of the scam contact received, for example, email or screenshot.

If you are unsure we are here to assist you to determine if an email is from Paywise or not. Simply go to our website and jump onto our online chat. Our consultants will quickly verify an email from one of our employee’s or speak with our IT team to ensure is another email that we are using for communication.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Paywise directly or for further information relating to phishing scams, please visit https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/.


September 14th, 2017