The Australian Broker Magazine reported Con artists are again impersonating ASIC in an effort to scam money out of consumers, according to the regulator, who’s warning Australians to be ‘wary’ of cold callers claiming to represent ASIC. “These offshore cold callers claim that your credit union, building society or bank have overcharged you and ask for your personal bank details,” reads an ASIC statement released yesterday. “These calls are a scam, and ASIC warns anyone who is contacted to hang up.” If you think you may have been a victim of this scam or your account may have been compromised, ASIC senior leader, stakeholder services, Warren Day, says to contact your credit union, building society or bank immediately. “We suspect this is a follow-up scam intended to trick you into providing your personal details. We ask the public to be cautious of calls like these. If you receive an unexpected call from someone in these circumstances, no matter who they claim to be, the best protection is simply to hang up.”

Protect yourself

If you or your receive a phone call or email out of the blue requesting your personal or banking information, hang up or delete the email and block the sender.

Never send money or give your financial details to someone you don’t trust or know.

If the caller or sender claims to be from a government agency or financial institution, remember that government departments and financial institutions would never ask you for your personal detail via cold calls, emails or text message.

If you’ve provided your bank account or credit card details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

Report scams

You can report scams via the report a scam page on SCAMwatch or by calling ASIC on 1300 300 630

John can be contacted on 0749722081 or 0410433919. You can also email him at jwhitten@ihl.net.au or look him up on the net www.ihl.net.au. John Whitten is a credit representative (CRN 399796) of BLASSA Pty Ltd (Australian Credit Licence No 391237).