ANZ ‘Our Website is Going to Change in the Nearest Future’ Phishing Scam
The original site is no longer online; links go to the Internet Archive copy.
The claim
Dear Customer,We would like to announce that the design of our website is going to change in the nearest future. The final changes will be applied on Monday, 22 of February 2016. Until the end of this week you can review the upcoming changes.
While mostly everything will function the same, the look and feel of our website will change.
We understand that this can be an adjustment so we have prepared some frequently asked questions for you to review.
1. Will this redesign affect any of my saved bookmarks?
Yes, all pages other than www.[address removed] will need to be re-bookmarked as the web address will change.
2. Why did the design of the website change?
We felt it was time to refresh the look and feel of ANZ Transactive. You’ll see this new look across all marketing collateral.
3. Does the way I sign into my account change?
No, the way you sign into your account will not change. However, we have enhanced our security system to make it more difficult for an unauthorized person to access your account.
4. I’m having issues accessing my account. What is the issue?
You’ll need to add our site to the Compatibility View List:
Click on tools
Scroll & click on compatibility view settings
Type in our address (www.[address removed])
Click add
Please email all questions or concerns to [Name Removed] Marketing & Communication Specialist:[address removed]
What the fact-checkers found
According to this email, which purports to be from ANZ, the bank’s website is about to change and you will need to update your saved bookmarks. It claims that you can type in the new website address included in the email to review the changes. Supposedly, the changes are designed to refresh the look of the site as well as enhance security.
However, the email is not from ANZ. Instead, it is a phishing scam designed to steal ANZ account login details from customers. The link supplied in the email takes you to a fraudulent website designed to look like it belongs to ANZ where you will be asked to login to ‘review’ the supposed new version of the site. However, if you comply, your login details will be collected by criminals and used to hijack your real ANZ account.
Scammers know that more wary users can often identify a site as fake because it has a different appearance than that of the real bank and the web address is different. Here, the scammer has tried to mitigate these red flags by advising people they can expect changes to the site. At least a few recipients may be caught out by this simple trick.
Although banks may occasionally change the design of their website, they are very unlikely to change their web address. It is always safest to login to your online accounts by entering the web address into your browser’s address bar or via an official app.
The date on which the changes will supposedly be implemented, the web address, and other details may change in different versions of this fake ANZ email. And, scammers are now using the same ruse to target customers of several different banks.
If you receive one of these phishing emails, do not follow any links or open any attachments that it contains.
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