National Australia Bank (NAB) has issued an urgent alert to its customers regarding a new scam involving fake pop-up SMS messages designed to deceive Australians into divulging financial information. These fraudulent messages appear on locked phone screens, claiming to be from NAB and suggest that the recipient’s NAB ID has been misused overseas, urging them to contact the bank immediately.
The bogus notification temporarily locks the user’s phone and includes counterfeit contact details, making it difficult for victims to identify the scam. Laura Hartley, NAB’s Head of Security Advisory, explained that the perpetrators aim to manipulate individuals into calling a number provided in the message, where they can then use phishing tactics to obtain sensitive information such as login credentials or PIN codes.
One particular challenge with this scam is that the pop-up remains on the device until actively dismissed; however, it doesn’t get saved in the usual SMS inbox, complicating reporting efforts. Hartley affirmed that NAB does not utilise pop-up SMS for contact, urging anyone receiving such a message to report it promptly. She recommended that customers verify communications by only calling the bank using contact details found on their official website or their bank cards.
The rise of sophisticated scams represents a worrying trend, as criminals move away from simple phishing links to more elaborate impersonation tactics. Despite NAB’s efforts to combat these scams—which have reportedly reduced losses by 65% from 2023 to 2024—bank impersonation remains a prevalent issue.
Hartley encouraged Australians to stay informed about common scam indicators and pledged that NAB will continually enhance its protective measures against these fraudulent schemes. She noted that the changing tactics of criminals, such as employing deceptive pop-up messages, highlight the ongoing challenge banks face in safeguarding their customers. There is no absolute solution to the problem, but NAB remains committed to doing more to prevent these scams.