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An increasing number of Australians are being targeted by a sophisticated phone porting scam. Victims of the scam have their phone numbers switched to a new telco provider, leaving them vulnerable to theft and bank fraud.
If you suspect someone has moved (ported) your mobile phone number to a new telco provider, please contact us immediately on 131 728.
What is phone porting?
Porting is a service offered by telcos that allows consumers to keep their phone number when they change providers. Phone porting is completely legal – in fact, it helps to promote competition between telcos. However, scammers have begun exploiting it to gain access to Australians’ phones and take control of their bank accounts.
This is typically done in one of two ways. Scammers will either:
transfer their target’s mobile phone services to a new telco provider linked to a device they control, or
request that your existing provider swaps the SIM card associated with your mobile phone number to one they have access to.
Your telco provider is required to verify your identity before they can port your number to a new SIM card or telco, so the scammers will usually have captured personal details like your full name, date of birth, and email address beforehand.
Why it matters
Mobile phone porting scams are serious because your mobile number is often used to help keep your bank accounts secure.
Once a scammer controls a target’s phone number, they can bypass normal two-factor authentication (2FA) security systems to directly access bank accounts. In some cases, scammers can also access their targets’ superannuation and government services accounts.
Monitoring for suspicious activity
Before attempting to port your number, scammers will need to gather your personal data. This is often done through phishing emails, social engineering, or even by scraping your social media profiles for data they can use to trick a telco provider.
There are also several warning signs which may indicate your phone has been ported. These include:
Loss of mobile service
Victims of porting fraud will typically lose network access and only be able to use their phone in ‘SOS mode’.
Confirmation of a porting request
In some cases you may receive a text or email from your telco letting you know a porting request has been received.
Bills sent by new telco providers
Porting fraud victims may sometimes receive a bill from the new telco provider the scammer has used to make the switch.
Protect yourself from porting fraud
If you suspect your phone number has been ported, please contact Police Bank immediately on 131 728 so we can review and take appropriate action as applicable for your account(s).
You may also like to contactIDCARE, an independent not-for-profit organisation that helps Australians respond to ID theft and cyber crime.
You can also take preventative measures now to reduce the likelihood of being affected by these scams.
These measures include, but not limited to:
Ensuring your security questions are strong enough that only you know the correct answers.
Removing your phone number, date of birth and email address from social media accounts.
Maintaining good digital hygiene (including setting strong passwords and regularly updating them).
Being wary of cold callers and double-checking email addresses and hyperlinks before clicking them.
Contacting your telco provider to ask about any additional safety measures they may offer.
Stay cyber safe
You can find more advice on how to prevent fraud and cyber crime on our upcoming security hub, launching in October 2025.
Following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to reduce the official cash rate by 0.25% p.a. we’re reducing our variable home loan interest rates by 0.25% p.a.
For new borrowers: Effective August 22, 2025, we will decrease the interest rates for new variable rate home and investment loan borrowers by 0.25% p.a.
For existing borrowers: Effective August 22, 2025, we will decrease the variable interest rates for existing owner-occupied and investment home loans by 0.25% p.a. affecting repayments from August 22, 2025.
Savings Accounts We are reducing some of our interest rates on the following products;
U30 SUPER CHARGE interest rates will be decreasing by 0.25% p.a. to 4.50% p.a. effective from August 22, 2025
Some Savings Plus tiers will be decreasing by 0.25% p.a effective from August 22, 2025
Accounts with balances $50,000 to $99,999 will be 1.25% p.a.
Accounts with balances $100,000 to $249,999 will be 3.75% p.a.
Bonus Saver (Bonus Rate only) will be decreasing by 0.25% p.a. to 3.75 % p.a. effective from September 1, 2025
The rates for each balance tier apply to the entire account balance, up to the limits stated.
We’re dropping interest rates on some of our fixed rate home loans, effective Friday May 2, 2025!
All 3-Year Fixed Rate Ower Occupier & Investment, Principal & Interest Home Loans have now been reduced to 4.99% p.a.
All 2-Year Fixed Rate Ower Occupier & Investment, Principal & Interest Home Loans have now been reduced to 5.15% p.a.
For more information on changes to our Home Loan interest rates, and relevant comparison rates, visit our Home Loan and Interest Rate pages.
Terms and conditions, leading and eligibility criteria apply and are available here. Please note, current promotional offers (including cashback on all 2-year and 3-year fixed rate home loans) do not apply.
Police Bank to roll out Confirmation of Payee in 2025. Know who you’re paying – before you pay.
In a world where digital banking is part and parcel of everyday life, making sure your money goes to the right place has never been more important. That’s why Police Bank is introducing Confirmation of Payee (CoP) — a new name-checking feature that adds an extra layer of protection when you’re sending money.
Set to launch in 2025, CoP works by checking the account name you enter when setting up a new payee or updating an existing one. Instead of relying solely on BSB and account numbers, the system verifies that the name you’ve entered matches the one on the account you’re sending money to.
If there’s a mismatch or something looks suspicious, you’ll receive a prompt — giving you the chance to choose whether you want to go ahead and make the payment, pause and double check the details – or terminate the payment altogether.
This extra layer of security helps prevent scams, like invoice fraud or impersonation, where scammers trick people into sending money to the wrong account. It also helps to flag incorrect account details and reduces the chance of mistaken payments.
Once CoP becomes available in your Police Bank Internet Banking and Mobile Banking App, it will be automatically applied when you’re making or updating payments — giving you real time alerts before you send a payment. There’s no need to opt-in or sign-up.
Confirmation of Payee is part of a broader push across the Australian banking system, led by Australian Payments Plus (AP+), to strengthen payment security for all members. Police Bank is proud to be taking part in this important development to help protect our members and make banking safer for everyone. You’ll see more information from us leading up to launch, including how CoP will appear in your Internet Banking and Mobile Banking App. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about CoP, visit here.
We’re making some changes to our interest rates, effective April 4, 2025.
We’re decreasing our 2 year Fixed Rate for Owner Occupier and Investment, Principal and Interest Home Loans by 0.50% p.a. For more information visit Home Loan Interest Rates.
Good news for our current Home Loan members and new members.
Following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to reduce the official cash rate by 0.25% p.a. we’re reducing our home loan variable rate interest rate by 0.25% p.a. effective 28 February 2025.
For new borrowers: Effective 28 February 2025, we will decrease the interest rates for new variable rate home and investment loan borrowers by 0.25% p.a.
For existing borrowers: Effective 28 February 2025, we will be decreasing the interest rate for existing variable rate home loan borrowers for both Owner Occupied and Investment loans, (Principal and Interest (P& I) and Interest Only (IO)) by 0.25% p.a. affecting repayments from 28 February 2025.
For more info on changes to our Home Loan interest rates, visit our Home Loan and interest rate pages.
*Terms and conditions, lending and eligibility criteria apply and are available here.
Sydney, 12 July 2024: HOPE Housing Fund Management Ltd (HOPE), a shared-equity solution supporting essential workers to buy their own homes, and home loan partner Police Bank welcome the Premier’s recent initiative but are calling on government and institutional investors to look beyond Build to Rent as a housing solution for police, nurses, teachers, and other frontline workers.
The urgent message follows recent research published in The Sydney Morning Herald that found “dozens of inner-Sydney suburbs are entirely devoid of emergency workers as soaring housing costs push a growing number of those employed in frontline jobs to outer metropolitan areas and beyond”.
HOPE’s shared-equity model launched with Police Bank’s support in October 2022, responding to already mounting evidence that workers providing critical essential services in Sydney were struggling to afford to buy a home near to where they work. Reported outcomes included long commutes, workers living in housing stress and unsuitable housing, and experienced workers looking to relocate to more affordable areas.
Together, HOPE and Police Bank have successfully acquired homes across Greater Sydney in partnership with 26 essential workers, with positive social impact findings* from the program:
77% of essential worker homeowners are reporting they can deliver a higher level of service in their profession.
69% are now more likely to stay in their chosen profession.
86% report feeling mentally healthier after achieving home ownership.
Yielding an impressive 12.2%^ asset growth in properties within the HOPE portfolio for the 12 months to June 2024, the HOPE Fund is outperforming CoreLogic’s Index for All Dwellings Sydney, which recorded 6.3% growth for the same period.
HOPE chief executive officer, Tim Buskens, said investment in shared-equity solutions should be top of mind for government and institutional investors wanting to address the housing crisis for essential workers.
“It’s only going to get tougher for our frontline workers – police, firefighters, nurses – to own a home close to where they work if the only housing solutions that get attention and investment are those like Build to Rent schemes,” Buskens said.
“By investing alongside owner-occupiers, shared equity models like HOPE provide long-term financial stability that benefits homeowners well into retirement. The model not only addresses immediate housing needs but also enhances the retirement outcomes for all superfund members. Given these significant advantages, HOPE’s approach aligns perfectly with the goals of government and Australia’s super funds.
“HOPE has a proven track record of delivering strong financial results for investors and outperforming market returns. We are proving that shared equity is a rewarding and profitable investment that has a real impact on the lives of essential workers who are telling us they now have peace of mind about their futures and can invest in their frontline work without needing to move out of the area.”
Police Bank Chair, Peter Remfrey, said this is just the latest in evidence showing home ownership is slipping further out of reach for frontline workers serving inner-city Sydney suburbs, and that intervention from government and investors can help turn the tide.
“HOPE’s shared equity model is a proven solution to fix the crisis in housing for essential workers. Government can invest and use the returns to fund further housing initiatives that provide more financial stability than subsidised rental schemes,” Remfrey said.
“It’s the ultimate win-win outcome, these dedicated workers don’t need a handout – it is shared equity with the structure built in so they can buy out HOPE’s investment over time. The time to act is now, with more than 3,000 police, nurses, teachers, and other frontline workers on the HOPE Housing waitlist who are desperate to live closer to where they work.”
HOPE is commencing to deploy its next round of funding. For more information on investment opportunities, please visit: https://investors.hopehousing.com.au
^Portfolio growth is determined by estimating market value of the properties within the Fund’s portfolio monthly, using CoreLogic IntelliVal (Automated Valuation Estimate) and PropTrack AVM. The change in total portfolio value is indexed from a base value of 100, established at the inception of the Fund’s portfolio, to account for the addition of new properties during the same period. The 12-month growth represents the cumulative growth over the prior four quarters. The portfolio growth information does not take into account liabilities or expenses of the Fund and therefore may not reflect overall Fund performance.
*HOPE Housing has relied on verbal and written information provided by its stakeholders, contracted data suppliers and other information available in the public domain. Stakeholder engagement captured the views of only a percentage of stakeholders and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of all beneficiaries or other stakeholders. Survey results provide a subjective, self-reported assessment. Although every effort was made to accurately capture, record and appropriately analyse information contained in this document, the conclusions are subject to the limitations of the data and methodologies used and described.
Notes to editors
The Home Owners’ Partnering Equity “HOPE” is a for purpose fund manager founded with the support of Tim Sims AM (Managing Director and Co-Founder at Pacific Equity Partners). HOPE Housing’s shared equity model makes equity contributions of up to 50 per cent in homes for eligible frontline workers, with funding provided by investors looking to access the stable and solid returns of residential property. The 10-year closed fund pays distributions to investors when a property is sold, or the homeowner buys out HOPE’s share.
HOPE Housing partners with member-owned Police Bank to provide the essential worker homeowner with home loan finance on their 50 per cent share. Police Bank is a member of The RegTech Association, committed to the growth and development of ethical and compliant business practice, and is supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
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