ANZ is urging customers to be wary online as a new scam aiming to trick people into handing over their details was circulating on social media.

ANZ Regional Executive Pacific, Sarah Stubbings, said: “Just one example is a message on Facebook Messenger that appears to be ANZ branded, claiming to contain a link to a promotion to win $4000.”

“This is not legitimate and could result in malicious software being installed which can later steal your banking log in details.

“If you receive this message, do not click on the link. If you are concerned that you may have responded to or acted on a scam compromising your personal details, please contact ANZ immediately. We’re here to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Stubbings said.

“ANZ customers can call the ANZ Contact Centre, visit their nearest branch or use BankMail through their ANZ Internet Banking or ANZ Pacific App to securely send and receive messages from ANZ.”

“Your digital personal information is just as valuable to a scammer as your money, so always be careful about the information you share online,” Stubbings said.

A spokesperson for ANZ said its team in Cook Islands has not seen this scam circulating locally yet, but nonetheless urged Cook Islanders to be wary.

“Don’t click on or download anything you don’t trust, especially in unexpected or suspicious texts or emails,” she said.

“If unsure, check a communication is real by contacting the person or organisation directly, using details you’ve found yourself.”

She said scammers can spoof phone numbers and emails so they appear to be sent from a genuine source.

“Don’t automatically trust something just because it appears in a previous conversation with a trusted source,” she said.

“Never allow anyone, who calls you out of the blue, to have remote access to your devices. Anyone asking for your passwords or access to your device is likely a scammer.”