NAB customer Anna* thought she’d finally found an elusive ticket to one of the year’s hottest concerts – Coldplay. But it threatened to be trouble until Fraud Analyst Tyla Dillon stepped in.

Tyla was on the other end of the phone when Anna* rang the Fraud Operations team recently about the bank holding a $250 payment for the ticket she’d seen listed on a Facebook fan group.

Anna explained the seller was the group’s administrator and had given her account details with a different name to their Facebook profile.

Both were red flags to Tyla, backing up the scam risk alerts raised by NAB’s detection algorithms.

“At the start of the call the customer just wanted the money to go through so she knew she had the ticket,” Tyla said.

“Unfortunately, there were a number of red flags, so I suggested Anna ask the seller what state they live in and why two different names were being used by the seller.”

Even when Anna’s call dropped out, Tyla took the opportunity to keep investigating. She asked her colleague Matthew to contact the receiving bank about the account.

At the same time, Anna contacted the seller asking for more information. The seller was clearly becoming concerned about being caught, and advised Anna to cancel the payment, raising her suspicions even further.

“I rang Anna back and she’d realised something wasn’t right. We cancelled the payment and, thankfully, made sure the money never left the account,” Tyla said.

Tyla said her fraud operations team was starting to see ticket scams on the rise ahead of summer gigs, many starting on social media.

“There are a lot of concerts happening over the summer months  and I know lots of friends and colleagues going,” she said.

“As a music fan, I know just how much pressure there can be to get a ticket to a gig but it’s also a good time to ask yourself ‘What happens if this is a scam?’.

“I’d stay away from new, private or locked social media profiles and ones with very generic pictures. It’s very easy for someone to set up a page or

profile in a couple of minutes.

“If the person becomes defensive, changes their story or doesn’t want to answer simple questions, that’s a red flag.”

NAB Executive, Group Investigations Chris Sheehan said Anna’s story highlighted how NAB’s technology investments and fraud experts worked to keep customers safe.

“While we’re working hard to identify and detect scams in different ways, unfortunately scams still occur. That’s why education, including knowing how to recognise the red flags, is vital,” he said.

“We are including investing in a range of new technology capabilities. The bank’s fraud engine is connected to the Internet Banking, mobile and NAB Connect payments systems, helping to see and hold payments in real time.

“Other detection initiatives include payment alerts in the NAB app and Internet Banking, biometric technology in digital channels and branch colleagues completing a scams form for transactions over $10,000.”

*Customer’s name has been changed for privacy reasons