NAB ‘Update and Upgrade’ Phishing Scam Email
The original site is no longer online; links go to the Internet Archive copy.
The claim
Email purporting to be from the National Australia Bank (NAB) claims that, due to a recent server update and upgrade, all customers must click a link to verify their accounts.
What the fact-checkers found
The email is not from NAB and customers do not need to verify their accounts as claimed. The email is a phishing scam designed to steal personal and financial information from NAB customers.
According to this email, National Australia Bank (NAB) has recently updated and upgraded its servers so that it can offer maximum security to customers. But, claims the email, due to the update and upgrade, all customers are required to verify their online accounts. The email warns that failing to comply with the verification request will result in termination of your online account. The email comes complete with the NAB logo, ‘NAB Smart Statement’ graphic and copyright notice. It also includes a verification link for you to click.
However, the email is not from NAB and you do not need to verify your account as claimed. In fact, the email is a phishing scam designed to steal your personal and financial information.
If you click the link, you will be taken to a bogus verification form on a fraudulent website. The website is designed to look like it is part of the NAB site and includes the NAB logo and colour scheme. The form, which is spread over several tabs, asks for a large amount of your information, including your account login details, your credit card numbers, your email address and password, your home address and contact details, and a lot more.
After supplying all of the requested information, you may receive a ‘verification completed’ message before being redirected to the genuine NAB website.
But, meanwhile, online criminals can collect the information you supplied and use it to hijack your NAB account and steal your money or conduct fraudulent transactions. They can also use your credit card at will. And, they can even take control of your email account and use it to launch spam and scam campaigns that appear to come from you. They may also be able to use the stolen information to steal your identity outright.
Scam emails like this one are very common. Be wary of any email that claims that you must click a link or open an attachment to update or verify account details or rectify an account problem. Your bank is very unlikely to send you such an email. It is always safest to login to your online accounts by entering the account address into your browser address bar or via an official app.
NAB has information about phishing attacks and how to report them on its website.
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