How to be safe online

Bank safely online

Keeping your personal information and banking details safe is our top priority, but there are also actions you can take to keep your online banking sessions secure. Read our online banking safety tips below:

• Always log in to ANZ’s site by typing www.anz.com.au into your browser’s address bar, instead of following any links or bookmarked pages.
• Avoid banking online when you’re using public Wi-Fi.
• Choose your passwords or passphrases carefully and change them regularly.
• Log out of online banking as soon as you’ve finished.

Choose your passwords carefully

If your passwords are stolen, your banking, emails, social media accounts and online shopping accounts could all be vulnerable to identity theft. Protect access to your accounts by following these tips:

• Never share sensitive online banking details (such as your password, PIN, ANZ Shield code) with anyone, especially not through unsolicited emails, calls or messages. ANZ will never send you a message or an email asking you to verify or provide confidential information.
• Create strong passwords with a minimum of eight characters, using combinations of numbers, symbols and upper & lower cases. Consider using long and memorable passphrases (e.g. Th3Qu1ckBr0wzF0x).
• Avoid choosing generic passwords or a password that is easily identified with you (e.g. Password1, date of birth, name, phone number, your child’s name or pet)
• Create different passwords for online banking, social media and email accounts to help protect your accounts should one become compromised.

Shop safely online

Love online shopping? Make payments safely and securely by following these tips:

• Look for 'https://' and the padlock symbol in your browser’s address bar to check whether the site you’re visiting is secure.
• Take a look at reviews on the online store you’re visiting to confirm it’s legitimate.
• Make secure payments through PayPal or BPAY®, rather than via money transfers and direct bank deposits.
• Never send your bank or credit card details via email, SMS or through social media.
• Avoid making payments online when you’re using public Wi-Fi.
• Where possible, on marketplace purchases, consider using PayID to make sure the name matches the person or company you’re paying.

Learn about 7 ways to stay safe while shopping online 

Be wary of suspicious messages

Links in SMS messages or emails from a sender you don’t recognise should be treated with caution. By clicking, you might visit a fake website that may capture your personal details or you might inadvertently download malicious software (malware) on to your mobile device or computer. This could stop your device from working, corrupt your files and give unauthorised access to your personal information.

Signs of suspicious messages

• It’s unexpected, from an unknown sender and/or includes unfamiliar links, QR codes or attachments.
• It creates a sense of urgency to act e.g. ‘Update your online account details immediately’ or ‘Click now to claim your prize!’.
• It asks you for your personal or financial information.
• It appears to be from a legitimate source but the contact details or website address is different to the actual company’s when you search for it online.

What to do if you’ve received a suspicious message

Contact the organisation that seems to have sent the message to confirm what you’ve received is legitimate. Call the phone number listed on their website - don’t use any contact details from the message itself.

Contact us if you’ve received a suspicious text, call or email that mentions ANZ.

Learn more about phishing 

Protect yourself from identity theft

Be cautious about the information you share online. If your identity is stolen you may be at risk of unauthorised access to your banking, loans opened or a damaged credit rating. Here are some tips to help you protect your identity:

• Adjust your social media privacy settings to ‘private’.
• Don’t share personal or confidential information (such as your date of birth, address, bank details and passwords) on social media or in response to any email, even if it looks legitimate.
• Ensure your computer and mobile device/s have the most up to date security software updates.
• Beware of unexpected messages asking you to click on a link (or scan a QR code) to verify details or download an attachment.
• Use strong passwords or passphrases and use multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all accounts, where possible.
• Avoid transacting online when you are using public Wi-Fi.

Signs of identity theft:

• getting unsolicited bills, credit or loan statements
• receiving calls from creditors that you know nothing about
• finding it hard to get a credit card or loan due to an inexplicable poor credit rating.

If you think your identity might have been stolen, you should:

• contact IDCARE, Australia’s national identity and cyber support service
• reset your passwords
• run security software across your devices to check for malware.
• contact us and let us know