National Australia Bank (NAB) has revealed it has assisted with the removal of hundreds of illegitimate websites attempting to impersonate the bank or its products.

These “realistic-looking but phoney websites” are typically used to trick bank customers into revealing their banking or personal information to criminals.

In some cases, NAB said, they include investment scams “promising high windfalls from financial products or services”.

NAB head of security culture and advisory Laura Hartley said the bank, on average, requests the takedown of at least two fraudulent NAB websites each day.

Since the beginning of 2024, the bank said it has identified and removed around 600 of these copycat sites.

This echoes the success of ASIC’s own scam website takedown service, which has seen the removal of more than 10,000 investment scam and online advertisers since its launch in mid-2023 – an average of 130 sites per week.

These NAB-immitating scam sites, once identified by the bank’s staff, are requested to be added to Google and Microsoft block lists, which alert customers to instances of bogus websites attempting to impersonate the bank.

“It’s a constant game of whack-a-mole and it’s why we need a coordinated, national approach to stop the crime before it occurs. Banks can’t do this on their own,” Hartley said.

“We need to make Australia a hard place for these criminals to operate in and that takes a national coordinated response across banks, digital and social media companies and telcos all working closely together.”

Australians last calendar year reported the loss of more than $27 million to internet-based scams, with more than $13 million lost to web-based investment scams alone, National Anti-Scam Centre data reveals.

NAB identified the three most common methods used by fraudulent websites to scam their victims:

• Spoofed URLs: Web addresses which appear authentic but are slightly altered and difficult to distinguish from the real ones.
• Urgency and fear tactics: Promotions pressuring people into quick decisions, such as limited-time offers or threats of account suspension which often arrive via email, text message or phone calls.
• Fake endorsements: Use of fake testimonials or unauthorised use of brand trademarks or celebrity images to build credibility and commonly promoted across social media channels.