Quick thinking by a bank manager and a woman's own skepticism have saved her from losing almost $10,000 to an impersonation scam.
The young woman from the Central Coast called Newcastle Permanent's Bathurst branch after she received a call about a fraudulent transaction from someone who claimed to be a bank representative.
Branch manager Keira Guihot said as soon as she spoke to the woman, she could hear the panic and urgency in her voice.
"The customer explained that they had been asked to log on to internet banking, which immediately raised alarm bells for me," Ms Guihot said.
Straight away, she told the woman to hang up on the call.
Ms Guihot began working with the bank's fraud team to block internet banking access, secure the customer's accounts and put stops on her bank cards.
Taking that swift action saved the customer from losing $9500.
Ms Guihot said the bank does a lot of work to educate people about scams and what to look out for.
"Education has really paid off here, with this customer using a verified phone number to call us and check the legitimacy of the scammer's claim before things escalated," she said.
"Scammers can place a lot of pressure on their targets to act fast, but the simple act of stopping and checking has prevented a significant financial loss."
The attempted scam took place ahead of Scams Awareness Week, highlighting the importance of making sure people stop, check and protect themselves before sharing personal information or money.
Head of NGM Group Financial Crime Operations Grant Williams said bank impersonation scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
"Scammers want to take as much money from you as they can, and they will put in a lot of effort to convince you to hand over your details," Mr Williams said.
"This often starts with a text or a phone call to get your attention, and from there they want you to panic, click on a link quickly or hand over information before you have had time to stop and consider.
"Always take a moment to think before you do anything, a moment of pause could be the difference between protecting your finances and losing money to a scam."
NGM Group has urged customers never to click links in unexpected text messages or emails claiming to be from the bank, not to open or download email attachments without verifying them and never share passwords, PINs or internet banking codes with anyone.
If customers receive a suspicious phone call, they should hang up and call their bank directly using the phone number listed on its website.
Members of the public should monitor their bank accounts regularly and report any suspicious activity immediately.
