Scam calls on the rise: What not to share
ASB Bank is urging customers and businesses to stay alert after a renewed rise in scam calls from fraudsters posing as bank staff, the lender said on Friday.
Scammers have been asking people to verbally share verification codes to access online banking accounts or directing them to counterfeit bank websites to enter personal details.
ASB general manager fraud and scams Richard Joseph said the callers were highly sophisticated, with many claiming to have detected fraudulent activity on a customer’s account to appear more convincing.
“While our fraud team may call customers to verify unusual transactions, we won’t ask for login credentials,” Joseph said.
“We will never ask for your banking passwords, PIN, verification codes sent through your mobile phone, or codes from your token. We will never ask you to type a web address into your browser, nor ask you to enter any of your details or codes. The only web address ASB uses is www.asb.co.nz.”
ASB said customers who receive a suspicious call claiming to be from the bank can request a Caller Check – a secure message sent directly to their ASB Mobile Banking App to confirm the caller’s identity before sharing any information.
Joseph cautioned that if a caller claiming to represent ASB could not send a Caller Check notification, or if a customer received one outside the official app, it was likely a scam.
“If anyone is in doubt about whether they’re really speaking to their bank, hang up and call back on one of its publicly listed numbers,” he said.
Customers who believe their account may have been compromised are urged to contact ASB immediately.
The ASB warning comes against a broader backdrop of rising scam activity across New Zealand’s banking sector. Kiwibank has reported an increase in text and email phishing scams impersonating
its brand and other organisations such as NZTA, NZ Post, and IRD. In response, the New Zealand Banking Association updated its Code of Banking Practice in November 2025 to introduce new scam protections and compensation commitments for member banks.
