Latest news with #MacquarieBank
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
‘Days limited': Bank's huge security call
The fifth largest lender in Australia has highlighted the security risk of two-factor authentication models through texts, calling the technology outdated. According to Macquarie, traditional SMS two-factor authentication (2FA) – which is widely used in Australian banking – relies on insecure technology and often provides limited information. Macquarie Bank head of deposits Olivia McArdle said the lack of detail in these messages means recipients may not know what they are approving and can't distinguish whether the action was initiated by the customer or a scammer. Macquarie Bank says two-factor authentication (2FA) – which is widely used in Australian banking – relies on insecure technology and often provides limited information. NewsWire / Morgan Sette Credit: News Corp Australia 'We think the days of Australian banks relying solely on SMS to verify customer account activity are numbered,' she said. The warning comes a month after the major super funds announced cyber breaches, but have yet to make models such as the 2FA standard. In the March, hackers were able to gain access to five of the largest super funds in Australia through 'credential stuffing' – which involves stolen usernames and passwords which are sold on the dark web. The attackers exploit the fact that people often repeatedly use the same passwords for different accounts, with security measures such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) helping to slow down these types of cyber attacks. Australians were reported ripped off through their superannuation. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar Credit: NewsWire Super Consumer Australia chief executive Xavier O'Halloran said the breach follows consistent warnings from regulators and consumer advocates around superannuation funds lagging behind on cyber-resilience and fraud protection. 'Australians are legally required to put their money into super. Today's news is chilling when we know super funds aren't doing enough to protect Australians' retirement savings,' Mr O'Halloran said. 'When something goes wrong, too many people are being left without support, answers, or access to their own money.' Macquarie Bank said Australians are demanding more security than 2FA via a text message. 'The vulnerabilities are clear and customers, who are seeing the risks themselves, are voting with their feet,' Ms McArdle said. There have been consistent warnings from regulators and consumer advocates around superannuation funds lagging behind on cyber-resilience and fraud protection. NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia Five tips to watch when using SMS for 2FA Macquarie say while there needs to be more done, there are a few things Australians can watch out for to stay safe. 1. Check the detail: Due to the limitations of SMS 2FA, Aussies might not know exactly what they are approving and should not take action unless you have full confidence the 2. Impersonation scams: Scammers may impersonate your bank, urgently requesting authorisation codes via SMS to stop a scam but will actually use these codes to compromise a device. 3. Spoofing: Scammers may trick you into sharing personal or financial details via SMS. These fraudulent messages typically contain links to fake websites that prompt victims to share their sensitive banking data, with Australians urged not to click on links in a text. 4. Pop-up SMS: Scammers can deliver a pop-up or flash SMS to your phone. These appear directly on your lock screen and are not saved to your inbox to prevent them from being reported or traced. 5. Phone porting: Although this scam has reduced in prevalence, scammers can in some instances illegally transfer your phone number to another telecommunications provider without your consent. This enables them to receive all your messages and use this access to compromise your account.
West Australian
3 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
‘Days are limited': Macquarie Bank makes huge call on two-factor authentication, warns system is not secure
The fifth largest lender in Australia has highlighted the security risk of two-factor authentication models through texts, calling the technology outdated. According to Macquarie, traditional SMS two-factor authentication (2FA) – which is widely used in Australian banking – relies on insecure technology and often provides limited information. Macquarie Bank head of deposits Olivia McArdle said the lack of detail in these messages means recipients may not know what they are approving and can't distinguish whether the action was initiated by the customer or a scammer. 'We think the days of Australian banks relying solely on SMS to verify customer account activity are numbered,' she said. The warning comes a month after the major super funds announced cyber breaches, but have yet to make models such as the 2FA standard. In the March, hackers were able to gain access to five of the largest super funds in Australia through 'credential stuffing' – which involves stolen usernames and passwords which are sold on the dark web. The attackers exploit the fact that people often repeatedly use the same passwords for different accounts, with security measures such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) helping to slow down these types of cyber attacks. Super Consumer Australia chief executive Xavier O'Halloran said the breach follows consistent warnings from regulators and consumer advocates around superannuation funds lagging behind on cyber-resilience and fraud protection. 'Australians are legally required to put their money into super. Today's news is chilling when we know super funds aren't doing enough to protect Australians' retirement savings,' Mr O'Halloran said. 'When something goes wrong, too many people are being left without support, answers, or access to their own money.' Macquarie Bank said Australians are demanding more security than 2FA via a text message. 'The vulnerabilities are clear and customers, who are seeing the risks themselves, are voting with their feet,' Ms McArdle said. Five tips to watch when using SMS for 2FA Macquarie say while there needs to be more done, there are a few things Australians can watch out for to stay safe. 1. Check the detail: Due to the limitations of SMS 2FA, Aussies might not know exactly what they are approving and should not take action unless you have full confidence the 2. Impersonation scams: Scammers may impersonate your bank, urgently requesting authorisation codes via SMS to stop a scam but will actually use these codes to compromise a device. 3. Spoofing: Scammers may trick you into sharing personal or financial details via SMS. These fraudulent messages typically contain links to fake websites that prompt victims to share their sensitive banking data, with Australians urged not to click on links in a text. 4. Pop-up SMS: Scammers can deliver a pop-up or flash SMS to your phone. These appear directly on your lock screen and are not saved to your inbox to prevent them from being reported or traced. 5. Phone porting: Although this scam has reduced in prevalence, scammers can in some instances illegally transfer your phone number to another telecommunications provider without your consent. This enables them to receive all your messages and use this access to compromise your account.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Days are limited': Macquarie Bank makes huge call on two-factor authentication, warns system is not secure
The fifth largest lender in Australia has highlighted the security risk of two-factor authentication models through texts, calling the technology outdated. According to Macquarie, traditional SMS two-factor authentication (2FA) – which is widely used in Australian banking – relies on insecure technology and often provides limited information. Macquarie Bank head of deposits Olivia McArdle said the lack of detail in these messages means recipients may not know what they are approving and can't distinguish whether the action was initiated by the customer or a scammer. 'We think the days of Australian banks relying solely on SMS to verify customer account activity are numbered,' she said. The warning comes a month after the major super funds announced cyber breaches, but have yet to make models such as the 2FA standard. In the March, hackers were able to gain access to five of the largest super funds in Australia through 'credential stuffing' – which involves stolen usernames and passwords which are sold on the dark web. The attackers exploit the fact that people often repeatedly use the same passwords for different accounts, with security measures such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) helping to slow down these types of cyber attacks. Super Consumer Australia chief executive Xavier O'Halloran said the breach follows consistent warnings from regulators and consumer advocates around superannuation funds lagging behind on cyber-resilience and fraud protection. 'Australians are legally required to put their money into super. Today's news is chilling when we know super funds aren't doing enough to protect Australians' retirement savings,' Mr O'Halloran said. 'When something goes wrong, too many people are being left without support, answers, or access to their own money.' Macquarie Bank said Australians are demanding more security than 2FA via a text message. 'The vulnerabilities are clear and customers, who are seeing the risks themselves, are voting with their feet,' Ms McArdle said. Five tips to watch when using SMS for 2FA Macquarie say while there needs to be more done, there are a few things Australians can watch out for to stay safe. 1. Check the detail: Due to the limitations of SMS 2FA, Aussies might not know exactly what they are approving and should not take action unless you have full confidence the 2. Impersonation scams: Scammers may impersonate your bank, urgently requesting authorisation codes via SMS to stop a scam but will actually use these codes to compromise a device. 3. Spoofing: Scammers may trick you into sharing personal or financial details via SMS. These fraudulent messages typically contain links to fake websites that prompt victims to share their sensitive banking data, with Australians urged not to click on links in a text. 4. Pop-up SMS: Scammers can deliver a pop-up or flash SMS to your phone. These appear directly on your lock screen and are not saved to your inbox to prevent them from being reported or traced. 5. Phone porting: Although this scam has reduced in prevalence, scammers can in some instances illegally transfer your phone number to another telecommunications provider without your consent. This enables them to receive all your messages and use this access to compromise your account.
News.com.au
29-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Aussie can travel anywhere for free using frequent flyer points
They call him the 'Points Whisperer' for a reason. Avid Aussie traveller Steve Hui, who has flown to 33 countries and 162 cities, is the man behind the booming I Fly Flat company. He founded it back in 2012 to help people fly business class using their points. His points obsession began almost 15 years ago working as an accountant for Macquarie Bank when he got a taste of business class during a work trip to Singapore. 'I was on Singapore Airlines A380 and when they came to take my jacket … I thought 'wow this is pretty good service',' he laughed 'That was my first paid ticket (by the company) on business, but my first points ticket I actually flew part business, part first class on United Airlines. 'I went via Seoul, so I flew business class to Seoul and then from Seoul I flew to Los Angeles in first class — I was going to Vegas. 'I mean who doesn't want to go to Vegas in first class – and I remember that moment clearly because I was thinking 'how the hell did I get here'.' It cost him roughly 150,000 in points at that time – in 2012. Steve currently has 4 million frequent flyer points – meaning he can ultimately travel the world for free. To break it down further, he can do around 10 business class flights without having to pay a cent. He rated Singapore Airlines' award-winning first class cabin as his favourite experience so far, revealing it's 'not too hard to fly'. 'You can fly Sydney to Singapore in the first-class suite for 97,000 points, it's really obtainable.' He said it was an experience he will never forget. 'I think it's better than going to Disneyland,' he laughed. As for business class, he said Cathay Pacific is one of his favourites. Steve worked for Macquarie Bank for 11 years and in that time was able to accumulate plenty of points with the help of work travel. But it wasn't until he was given a voluntary redundancy that he had a light bulb moment that would ultimately change his life and impact thousands of people who he's since helped maximise their points to travel in luxury. He realised he can turn his hobby of collecting points into a business – one that has very little competition to this day. As such, I Fly Flat was born, and with the help of his accounting background, is able to do all hard yards for you, turning your credit card and airline points into pretty amazing travel experiences – saving you around $5000 to $10,000 per ticket. 'The most rewarding part of my job is when business owners don't think they can ever fly business class – and you fly them on business they're like 'how can this be' – that's the bit I find most rewarding,' he said. When it comes to which card will offer you the best points return, he was quick to name drop American Express Platinum, saying it earns you the highest points per dollar. Noting it has a $1450 annual fee for personal use and $1750 fee for business use, Steve said if you spend the money to get the points, the business class savings more than pays for the annual fee. 'The best way to accumulate points is to pay everything on a points earning card (personal and business),' he advised. 'Some people think about earning points on personal expenses, but they don't think about the business and those expenses earn you way more. 'You can earn points paying payroll, paying ATO, basically paying every single expense dollar you've got.' Steve also addressed one thing you should never do – and that's paying for a flight using part money and part points. 'It's a terrible deal … because airlines basically convert your points to be worth one cent.' 'Just don't do that,' he warned. He said, for example, if you had 318000 Qantas points that's a return business class ticket from Sydney to Milan, on a fixed reward seat. 'But if you had 318,000 points and you did it part money, part points, the 318,000 points will only get you $4700. 'It's a good deal if you convert 318,000 points into a business class ticket. It's not a good deal if you do, part points, part pay, which then your points are only worth a maximum of $4,700. 'If it's a $12,000 ticket, you'd still have to pay $8000.' Since Steve launched his business 13 years ago, he and his team of experts have had over 1 billion points booked. 'I've been doing this full-time for over 12 years, and it's still a thrill – clients grinning in lie-flat seats, champagne in hand, grinning ear to ear. That 'I can't believe this is happening' moment? That's what I wake up every morning to create.'
West Australian
21-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Australian mortgage holders tipped to save in just three days after RBA cut
Australia's fifth biggest bank, Macquarie Bank, will pass on the May interest rate to its customers a week earlier than its competitors, citing cost of living pressures. Macquarie has become the first major lender to cut variable interest rates just days after the Reserve Bank of Australia officially announced a rate reduction. Variable mortgage rate customers will get the full 25 basis point rate cut passed on by the 23rd of May. Macquarie Bank head of personal banking Ben Perham said it was important to pass on rate relief quickly during the current cost of living climate. 'We know homeowners across Australia are watching rate movements closely and that every dollar counts,' Mr Perham said. 'That's why we're reducing the time it takes for this rate cut to be effective from 10 days to three so our customers can feel the benefit of lower rates, and more money in their pockets at the end of each month, sooner.' From May 23 home loan rates will start at 5.64 per cent and Macquarie will automatically drop if paying the minimum and also have a direct debit set up. The changes come just days after the Reserve Bank of Australia slashed the official cash rate from 4.10 to 3.85 per cent in a widely predicted move. Meeting for the second time under its new dual-board structure, the RBA cut the national cash rate by 25 basis points, but surprised everyone by saying they open to a super-sized 50 basis point rate cut. 'There was an argument and we did debate it (a 50 basis point cut) but it wasn't the strongest argument in the room,' RBA governor Michele Bullock said. She stressed 'inflation hurts everyone', particularly those on lower incomes and renters. Responding to a question from NewsWire on whether households could expect further relief, she acknowledged Australians had gone through a 'really rough few years', typied by sharp rises in everyday prices. 'I would say that bringing inflation down is the best thing we can do to help them, while keeping employment strong,' she said. 'At the moment we are on track to deliver that. I know you're doing it tough, but conditions are improving.' All four of the major banks have announced they will also move on interest rates but it will take a week longer. NAB confirmed it would decrease its standard variable home loan interest rate by 0.25 per cent, effective from Friday, May 30, with the 10-day delay in line with previous changes to interest rates in the wake of a cash rate change. ANZ was quick to follow, also dropping its variable rate by 0.25 per cent, effective on May 30. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has moved in line with the other majors and will also drop variable interest rates on home loans by 0.25 per cent. Westpac told customers it too would pass on the rate cut in full – to mortgage holders and savers, albeit a touch slower. It was the only one of the major banks to make an announcement on savings rates. From June 3, the bank will decrease its variable interest rates by 0.25 per cent for new and existing customers. Speaking about the change, Westpac acting chief executive consumer, Carolyn McCann said it will give welcome relief to mortgage holders facing cost of living pressures. 'Our customers have shown remarkable resilience when it comes to managing their finances through a challenging economic period,' she said. 'However, we recognise things are still tough and every dollar counts in the family budget.' From May 30, variable rates on Westpac Life accounts will decrease by 0.25 per cent, while new customers applying online for a Westpac eSaver account will also cop a 0.25 per cent interest rate cut.
