Bronte the banker battles a scammer in the background

When NAB customer adviser Bronte Chatfield answered a normal customer call, she didn't expect to overhear the elderly man on the other end being coached by a criminal.

"The call was so short it didn't give me a lot of opportunity to work out exactly what was happening, but you could tell something was going wrong in real time," Bronte, who is a NAB phone banker, said.

"I could hear the customer speaking to someone else on speakerphone on another phone call and he couldn't hear me trying to speak to him. I knew in that moment I needed to react, and I needed to act with urgency."

The customer, in his 90s, was about to fall victim to a remote access scam after clicking a pop-up on his computer and was speaking to the criminal, who was attempting to swindle $2,600.

While the criminal was coaching the customer to log into internet banking to complete the scam transfer, the customer dialled NAB's legitimate number, likely on the criminal's direction. When the call reached Bronte, she heard what was happening in the background.

"I overheard the criminal say the word 'passwords' so it's likely the scammer was coaching the customer to log into internet banking or what to say when he contacted us to get his account unblocked."

That's when Bronte swung into action to protect the customer's account.

"I couldn't get the customer's attention on my phone call but there were a number of red flags. My training and experience meant I knew to place a block on the account to protect it."

By placing a block on the account, Bronte ensured no transactions could go through. The customer's money was safe and the $2,600 was never authorised to leave his account.

The criminal had been thwarted.

"There is a lot of relief when you realise you've just stopped a scam and you're able to save the customer's funds."

The customer called back a little while later and spoke to one of Bronte's colleagues, Daniel, who explained what had happened. Daniel confirmed the customer's identity, confirmed the scam attempt was over and unblocked his accounts. NAB's Fraud Operations team also had a conversation with the customer about the red flags of scams.

While Bronte never got the chance to properly speak to the customer, she still feels she has a bond with him.

"It's rewarding, even if I'm just an unsung, anonymous hero to the customer."

NAB Executive for Group Investigations Chris Sheehan said scammers were masters of manipulation, coaching customers what to do and say even when their bank was trying to protect them.

"Scammers are criminals who'll use every trick in the book to convince you of anything they can to get you to hand over money," Mr Sheehan said.

"In this case, the criminal was trying to coach the customer how to log into internet banking and complete the transfer and even what to say to NAB if we questioned the transaction.

"Our people are trained to identify the red flags - even over the phone - and I'm glad Bronte made sure the customer's accounts were safe."

Remote access scams cost Australians $256 million last year according to Scamwatch. The biggest red flag is someone saying they'll fix a problem with your phone, internet or banking and asking for access to your computer.

How to spot a remote access or impersonation scam

1. The caller may say they're from NAB or another well-known brand and there's an issue with your accounts or devices.
2. They may ask you to move money to another account for safe keeping.
3. They may ask you to download a program to give them access to your device.
4. There's a sense of urgency and they pressure you to act quickly.

Simple tips to help prevent phone phishing

• Treat any unsolicited phone calls with caution. If you're unsure about the legitimacy of a call, hang up and call back on an official phone number. The general NAB number 13 22 65 - you'll find it on the back of your card and our website.
• Never provide personal or banking information during an unsolicited call.
• Ensure you carefully read any SMS codes you receive. If the message says "Don't share this code with anyone, including NAB. Your security code is XXXX for a funds transfer", then do not share this code with anyone.
• Never give an unsolicited caller remote access to your computer or online bank accounts.

NAB has a bank-wide scam strategy. We've introduced a range of actions over the past two years to tackle the scam epidemic. Just a handful of examples include:

• Proactively working with telcos to address phone spoofing scams impersonating NAB.
• Being the first major bank to remove links from unexpected text messages to customers.
• Launching Payment Alerts in digital channels to make customers stop and check when a payment appears out of character or raises scam concerns.
• Introducing friction to payments by conducting real-time fraud checks when a payment is made, including the ability to hold any suspicious payments prior to a transaction being completed.
• Blocking payments to high risk crypto-currency platforms.
• Using cutting-edge biometric technology across digital channels like Internet Banking, the mobile app and NAB Connect to help detect suspicious activity.

Further information about how you can protect yourself from remote access scams is available on NAB's Security Hub at nab.com.au/phonescams.

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