Source: ASB Bank
Friday 23 October 2026
ASB is urging Kiwi to be on the lookout for impersonation scams, as it sees a rise in reported cases. Scammers are pretending to be from banks and other trusted New Zealand brands, with some claiming to be from ASB’s fraud team.
The scammers are using a range of tactics including using technology to make it appear they’re from a trusted organisation when this is not the case, for example calling from a number that looks the same as, or very similar to the real number.
Scammers are also reaching out to people through apps including WhatsApp, Google Meet and iCloud. They’ll often use a company logo as their profile photo in order to appear legitimate.
ASB Head of Fraud Operations Julie Wilton says these calls can be very convincing. “The number on your screen might look right, and the person on the other end might sound just like who you’d expect. That’s exactly what scammers are counting on.”
“We will never contact customers through an app, unless it’s the ASB Mobile App. If someone gets in touch with you on WhatsApp or Messenger, for example, saying they’re from ASB, it’s not us,” Ms Wilton says.
Once trust has been established, people are inadvertently providing sensitive banking or personal information to the scammers.
Customers have also reported scammers are asking them to enter a sequence of numbers ‘to prevent scammers from calling’, in the process they are unknowingly turning on call forwarding. This means any incoming call is diverted straight to the scammer’s phone.
“This is a big red flag. If anyone asks you to do this, hang up. ASB will never ask you to forward calls or enter a long series of numbers to ‘secure your account’. Our team won’t ask for netcodes, for remote access to your device, or to move your funds to keep them safe.”
Ms Wilton says the best thing people can do is take a moment to check. “If you get a call and you have any doubt about who you’re talking to, hang up and call the company back on its official listed number. A real organisation won’t mind you checking. A scammer will.”
Anyone who thinks they may have been contacted by a scammer, particularly if they have handed over any information, should call their bank as soon as possible. ASB customers can call the bank’s dedicated fraud and scam helpline 24/7 on 0800 ASB FRAUD (0800 272 372) or +64 9 303 0332 if calling from overseas.