News

Money mule scams are becoming more common in Australia, with criminals recruiting victims through job ads and romance offers. Money mules transfer the proceeds of crime – such as fraud or scams – into a third party’s bank account to hide them from authorities. Sometimes, unsuspecting victims get caught up in these scams because they’re disguised as an employment opportunity or even a new romance. Here’s how people get caught out and how you can help stop it from happening to you. How money mule scams work Money mules are intermediaries who act on behalf of other criminals, who are trying to launder or hide money derived from crime. To cover their tracks, money mules may try to recruit new people to get involved in the transfer of large sums of money. One common way of recruiting new people is under the guise of a legitimate employment opportunity, where the employee can earn sums of money quickly by making transfers. Another way involves a potential partner asking their online match to transfer money for them. Shielding yourself from a money mule scam These scams can be quite sophisticated, with fraudsters creating legitimate-looking email addresses and websites to reduce their chance of being detected; however, there are often red flags. The following tips may help: • The old adage ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is’ applies when it comes to money mule scams. Beware of any offers of large sums of money for minimal or easy work. • If you’re offered a job, conduct research on the company, including their ABN, how long the company has been registered and who its director/owner is. Be extra wary of businesses that are listed overseas. • Ask a trusted friend or family member for advice if something seems fishy. • Don’t send money to anyone you don’t know or have not met in person. • Protect your banking details and update your passwords periodically. • Always treat links in emails and text messages with caution. What to do if you think you’ve already been scammed: Immediate actions to take If you believe you’re the victim of a money mule scam, it’s important to report it to both the police and your bank as soon as possible. Call our Hunter-based Contact Centre Team during business hours on 1300 688 825. The sooner you contact us, the more likely it is we may be able to stop the transactions. However, some transactions – such as wire transfers – cannot be stopped. Money mule scams can involve identity theft. After you’ve spoken to us, consider contacting IDCARE – the national identity and cyber support service – on 1800 595 160. You can also report the scam to Scamwatch, the website run by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to help consumers. Remember, The Mutual Bank may contact Members from time to time but: • We will never ask you for your full card details including your CVV. • We will never ask for your passwords, access codes or One Time Password. • We will never ask you to make a transaction on your account. • We will never ask you to download a program or request remote access to your device. Learn more about how we protect your account and information here. Report a suspected fraud here.

For the second year running, The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan* has won a Mozo Experts Choice Home Loan Award in the Low Cost Home Loan award category. The win follows the news earlier this month that The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan was named one of the best refinance home loans in the market with a 2024 RateCity Gold Award. The Mozo Experts Choice Awards have been helping consumers make informed purchase decisions for the past 10 years and their extensive award selection process evaluates thousands of products. For the Low Cost Home Loan category the Mozo judges assessed 270 variable rate loans for owner-occupier borrowers, making principal and interest repayments, and identified these as the lowest cost for several different loan-to-value ratios. The Mutual Bank’s CEO, Mark Williams, said the double win for the Budget Home Loan was fantastic news for the Hunter-based bank. “Our commitment to offer competitive products has been recognised with these two awards, and that recognition highlights our commitment to helping people thrive,” he said. “We know the cost-of-living pressure means people are looking to trim their budgets where they can, and our Budget Home Loan has been consistently popular with home buyers looking for a no-frills home loan with a low, variable interest rate.” Mozo Experts Choice Awards Judge Peter Marshall said when it comes to choosing a home loan, key factors that people look for are competitive rates, low fees and a lender they can trust. “The Mutual Bank has demonstrated that it delivers on all three fronts,” he said. “This is the second year running that the Budget Home Loan has taken out a coveted award in the low cost home loan category, and is to be congratulated on this achievement. “These awards were designed to showcase the products in the market that deliver best value and The Mutual Bank is a great example of a small member-owned challenger competing with the big guys.” * The Mozo Experts Choice Low Cost Home Loan award was awarded to The Mutual Bank’s Budget Home Loan Special Variable Rate for owner occupied loans with ≤80% LVR and Principal and Interest repayments. Eligibility and lending criteria, terms, conditions, fees and charges apply and are available on application.  

Alongside our commitment to local sport, The Mutual Bank has partnered with high profile professional rugby league players Hannah and Jesse Southwell. The Southwell sisters, born and raised in the Hunter, who played their junior rugby league with the Kotara Bears, are both contracted to the Newcastle Knights for the next five years. Hannah is a NSW and Australian rugby league representative and has also represented Australia in rugby sevens as well as playing elite-level soccer. Jesse collected a Commonwealth Games gold medal in rugby sevens before switching codes to rugby league and was named the NRLW Rookie of the Year in 2022. Chief Member Officer Matthew Dunnill said the partnership with the Southwell siblings is in addition to our earlier announcement of a partnership with Newcastle Knights player Sheridan Gallagher and aims to contribute to the momentum of raising the profile of women’s sport. “The Hunter really got behind The Matilda’s during their FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign and that was tremendous to see,” he said. “Women’s rugby league is an emerging sport with increasing participation and profile, and the back-to back premiership wins by the Newcastle Knights Women has certainly lifted the profile even more.” The Mutual Bank will run a campaign featuring some of the homegrown talent that we support, from grassroots clubs to stars, in sports from netball to triathlon and various codes of football. As a member-owned bank, our profits don’t go into the pockets of shareholders, but rather are invested back into better products and services and sponsorship of community organisations and initiatives. “We are excited to be supporting through sponsorship, the Maitland Pickers Rugby League Club’s first women’s team in the Newcastle Rugby league competition,” said Matthew. “That’s alongside our long-standing sponsorship of Maitland and District Netball Association and sponsorship of Maitland Touch Football Association, Maitland Triathlon Club and Maitland Football Club.” Keep an eye on our social media channels to see more of Hannah, Jesse and Sheridan along with the local community organisations backed by The Mutual Bank.

The Mutual Bank is proud to be a part of a new Scam-Safe Accord aimed at delivering a higher standard of protection for our Members and help put scammers out of business in Australia. The Scam-Safe Accord, between Australia’s customer owned banks, mutual banks, building societies, credit unions and commercial banks is a comprehensive set of anti-scam measures across the entire industry. Announcing the Accord today, Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh said the new offensive in the war on scams reflects the banking sector’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding every Australian. At the heart of the Scam-Safe Accord is a $100 million investment by the industry in a new confirmation of payee system to be rolled out across all Australian banks. Confirmation of payee will help reduce scams by ensuring people can confirm they are transferring money to the person they intend to. Read more about the Scam-Safe Accord and what it will mean for our Members here. The Mutual Bank is a member of the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), the industry association for Australia’s customer-owned banks whose vision is for more Australians to benefit from a resilient banking sector that is centred on people and communities.