ASB cold call scam: Bank warns about fraudsters posing as staff on phone

One of the country’s biggest banks says “highly sophisticated” fraudsters are posing as staff and cold-calling customers, claiming there is suspicious activity on their account.

ASB says the scammers are then asking customers their banking details - including their login information for internet banking.

ASB’s acting chief operating officer Gerard Graham said the scammers were “persistent”.

“They’re also highly sophisticated and so come across as credible when trying to convince customers to hand over their online banking credentials.

“If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from ASB and you are unsure, ask for a Caller Check. This allows us to send a secure message directly to your ASB Mobile Banking App so you can verify you are speaking with us before sharing any information. If in doubt, hang up and call us back on one of our publicly listed numbers.

“Regardless of where you bank, protecting yourself from scams starts with staying informed.”

ASB asks any “customer who believes their account may have been compromised to contact the bank immediately on 0800 ASB FRAUD (0800 272 372), or +64 9 303 0332 if calling from overseas, or to visit their local branch”.

Kiwis were swindled out of a record $3 billion in scams last year -

a 30% increase from $2.3b in 2024.

Netsafe and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s State of Scams in New Zealand report released last year showed scammers are getting more sophisticated – and victims are facing persistent barriers to reporting and recovering their losses.

Netsafe’s Sean Lyons told The Front Page last November that about 82% of Kiwis reported experiencing a scam in the previous 12 months.

“So this is not about occasional access, and if you extrapolate the figures, you’re probably talking about a person experiencing over 150 different scam attempts in a year,” Lyons said.

“For a lot of people, it’s probably becoming the norm.”