Security

Reporting fraud

If you find a transaction on your statement that you haven’t authorised, please contact P&N Bank on 13 25 77. It is important to take an active role in preventing and combatting fraud.

Reporting a scam

Common signs of a scam:

• An unsolicited offer that comes out of the blue
• A guaranteed quick and easy way to make money
• Promises of low effort and no risk involved
• A request for personal information (eg. banking details)
• Sounds too good to be true

If you feel you have been a victim of a scam contact us immediately on 13 25 77

For more information, please visit the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Scamwatch website or call into any P&N Bank branch for your copy of “Little Black Book of Scams”, which is produced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, to help you avoid becoming a victim of scams.

Transaction monitoring

In addition to our other security measures, we also monitor the following transactions 24 hours a day, seven days a week:

• Visa Credit/Debit card
• rediCard
• Online transactions processed through Internet Banking and the P&N Bank Mobile App.

Although fraud monitoring for Visa Credit and Debit cards, rediCards and online transactions operates 24 hours a day, our Fraud Department will only contact members between the hours of 7am and 10pm (AWST). For all other monitoring, we will only contact you during business hours Monday to Friday.

Where transaction monitoring identifies a transaction that requires your confirmation, our fraud department will contact you via phone or SMS detailing the transaction in question. You will be asked about the transaction and need to confirm it as genuine or unauthorised. You may be asked to reply Y or N to the SMS or in some cases you will be asked to call us back.

If you receive a text message requesting you call back in regards to a transaction on your account, please contact our fraud fepartment on 1300 705 750 to discuss the details of the payment.

You should be wary of unsolicited calls supposedly from your financial institution. Should you have concerns about whom you are speaking with, do not provide any banking or personal information and hang up immediately. You should then advise our Contact Centre by contacting us on 13 25 77 and they will be able to confirm if the call you received was from the P&N fraud department.

Visa Secure

When you shop online, it’s important to know that your transactions are secure. To ensure your security, P&N Bank Visa Credit cards and Visa Debit cards are equipped with protection from Visa Secure.

What is Visa Secure?

Visa Secure provides P&N Bank members with an additional layer of protection when purchasing goods and services online through participating Visa Secure merchants.

When you make a purchase online with a participating merchant, your transaction will be assessed to determine if a second level of verification is required. If it is determined that additional verification is necessary you will be required to enter a security code, which will be sent to the mobile number that you have registered with P&N Bank. Once received the code can be entered and the transaction can be finalised.

Visa Secure helps prevent people using your details without your permission. And it’s good for retailers who want to make sure their customers are protected.

When you complete your payment with Visa Secure, P&N Bank is able to make additional security checks to ensure your card details have not been compromised. P&N Bank want to make sure that it’s really you making the purchase before they authorise the payment. After all, nobody would expect to take cash out of an ATM without using their PIN. We want to give you the same high standards of protection on the internet as well.

How to stay safe online

Be aware of scams

These days scammers are becoming very sophisticated, particularly when it comes to online activity. It's important to stay up to date with the latest scams such as SMS phishing, email phishing and telephone scams soliciting your personal and banking information.

Find out more about these common banking scams here. Alternatively you can visit the Scamwatch website for the latest information.

Bank safely online

To protect your accounts and personal information, it's important you know how to protect yourself. Here's some precautions you can take while using online banking.

• Set up a firewall for your home computer. This will help to prevent unauthorised internet users accessing information from your computer while you are online.
• Where possible, ensure that you install relevant current security updates as soon as they are released. Install good antivirus software and keep it up to date.
• Avoid banking or shopping online at internet cafes or using other public internet terminals.
• Always look for the secure padlock icon within your browser window when logging on to an online banking or internet shopping website.
• Regularly check your transaction history or statement for any unusual or suspicious transactions.
• Whilst P&N Bank strongly advises that you consider the above recommendations, we encourage you to thoroughly investigate the range of security options currently available before applying them to your PC. Do not choose Internet Banking passwords that are easy to guess, such as your name or birth date.
• Never tell anyone your log in information.
• Change your online banking password regularly.
• Always log on to Internet Banking via the P&N Bank website, do not use hyperlinks from unknown sources or third party websites, including search engines.
• Never leave an online banking session unattended, and ensure you always log out properly.

Remember, we will never ask you for your login or account details via email, and if you're unsure about any contact you receive surrounding this, contact us on 13 25 77. 

Bank safely when using mobile apps

Here are a few more things you should to remember to stay safe when banking via mobile apps:

• Never download apps from third party sites or from links in emails, social media, text messages or websites.
• When downloading an app, pay attention to the number of downloads, ratings and reviews. If there are only a few reviews and all of them have 5-star ratings without any comments, there's a chance the reviews are fake.
• If you believe you have downloaded a fake app you should uninstall it and contact the company in question immediately.
• Use legitimate app stores such as Google Play for Android or Apple’s App Store.
• Don’t store your member number and password with on your phone.
• For security, your mobile session will close after a period of inactivity. To begin another session, simply log in again.
• Make sure you exit the app, or lock your phone when you’re finished.
• Get in touch with us immediately if you’ve lost your mobile device or you think someone may know your login details.

Stay aware on social media

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are great ways to connect with friends and family, but they are also a way for fraudsters to connect with you.

Be careful that you don’t publish personal information that may compromise your personal security, and in particular you should never publish in a post, tweet or a status update any private information like your PAN, PIN, bank account details or address.

Here are some things to consider when setting up and using social network sites:

• Question each piece of information that you put on your profile and whether you’re willing to share it online - for example your home address or phone number.
• Personal data such as birth date, driver's licence number, tax file number or bank account details should never be published.
• Create complex passwords using upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters (such as $%&!), with a different password for each site.
• Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know.
• Never consider any communication on a social networking site to be personal or private.
• Familiarise yourself with the privacy settings and security policy of any social networking sites you use.
• If the site offers a reset password feature using a 'security question', make sure that only you know the answer to the question.
• Sort your friends into groups so that you can share specific content with selected friends.
• Minimise the number of third party apps and services that you install or allow to access your account.
• Don’t click links in messages or wall posts, even links sent to you by friends without checking first if the person intended to send it to you.

Card security

• Sign new cards as soon as you receive them, and destroy expired cards.
• If you are expecting a new card and don't receive it within 10 working days, contact us on 13 25 77.
• Memorise your PIN (do not carry it with your card), don't use the same PIN for all of your cards, and never share it with anyone.
• Do not select an obvious code for your PIN, such as your birth date.
• Never provide your credit card details over the phone or internet unless you are sure that you are dealing with a legitimate organisation.
• Notify P&N Bank immediately if your card has been lost or stolen. You can do this by calling us on 13 25 77 or by logging into Internet Banking or the P&N Bank Mobile App.
• Make a record of telephone numbers for reporting lost or stolen cards and keep it in a safe place.
• Treat your card like cash and always keep it in a safe place.

At the ATM

Stay alert

Be cautious when strangers offer to help you at the ATM, even if your card is stuck or you are experiencing difficulty with the transaction. Avoid ATMs which have messages or signs fixed to them indicating that the screen directions have been changed, especially if the message is posted over the card reader. Banks and other ATM owners will not put up messages directing you to specific ATMs, nor would they direct you to use an ATM which has been altered. Do not use ATMs that appear to have been tampered with.

Put your card and cash away

After completing your transaction, secure your card and cash immediately before leaving the ATM.

Protect your details

When entering your PIN, shield the ATM keypad with your hand or body. Keep your transaction record so you can compare it to your monthly statement.

Report suspicious behaviour

Report all crimes immediately to law enforcement officials, ATM owners and P&N Bank.

Protect your personal information

• Check your bank statements to ensure all transactions displayed are your own.
• Store all your personal information (eg. bank statements, cheque books, passport, utility bills, tax records) in a secure place.
• Put a lock on your letterbox.
• When disposing of personal documents, make sure you shred or tear them up.
• Cancel all unused or dormant bank accounts.
• Never provide your bank account details or other personal information in response to an unsolicited phone call or email.
• Never pre-sign cheques and always cross them 'not negotiable'.

If you have concerns about someone potentially obtaining credit in your name, Equifax provide a Free Credit Report service (mycreditfile).

Industry links

Stay Smart Online is a government run website and provides tips for families and small business with topics like securing your computer, small business safe online, smart transacting online and kids safe online.
www.staysmartonline.gov.au

More information about protecting your financial identity.
Australian Banking Association - Security and fraud prevention

Help Prevent Identity Theft, Spyware & Viruses – Microsoft provides great tips in the 'security at home' section of their website on how to protect your computer, protect yourself and protect your family.
www.microsoft.com/en-au/security/default.aspx

Scamwatch provides information on how to recognise, avoid and report scams. This is a government run website and it is run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). 
www.scamwatch.gov.au

The Australian High Tech Crime Centre is a Federal Police branch, providing a nationally coordinated approach to technology enabled crime (e.g. internet banking fraud and phishing). 
www.afp.gov.au

Regularly review your credit file with the credit reporting bureau. This will enable you to check that your identity have not been used without your knowledge.
www.mycreditfile.com.au

For financial tips and safety checks on investment and superannuation proposals please visit the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) website.
www.moneysmart.gov.au