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A growing number of fraudulent Facebook complaints pages are tricking people into unwittingly providing banking account and card details to get a refund that never arrives.
The pages impersonate legitimate organisations and target victims who post about complaints or service issues, offering refunds, compensation, or account credits.
Westpac NZ Head of Customer Care Operations, Peter Barnes, says it might look like a quick win for people, but it could actually end up costing them money.
“While a fake Westpac NZ complaints page has been taken down at our request by Meta, some customers may have been tricked by the fake page,” he says.
“Customers who posted on the page received a comment back from someone claiming to be from Westpac NZ, with the offer of a quick resolution if the customer provided their full name, email address and contact details. Using that information, the scammer could have contacted the customer directly and used the compensation pretext to request banking or card details.
“Unfortunately, any time people provide that kind of information they open themselves up to having their accounts compromised and funds potentially accessed or stolen,” Mr Barnes says.
While the Westpac NZ page has been shut down, its financial crime team is aware of several other similar fake sites impersonating other businesses.
“As known sites are shut down, others are likely to pop up. The key thing is that people need to be wary of any Facebook complaints pages as they’re highly unlikely to be legitimate, and always vigilant when being asked for account and card details,” he says.
If you think you may be caught up in a fraud or scam, call the bank immediately. The sooner it is reported, the better the chance the money can be recovered.
Tips on spotting and avoiding Facebook business impersonation scams:
- Redirection to an overseas phone number
- A request for your online banking password or pin – we never do that
- If you are in any doubt, call 0800 400 600.