TL;DR: Australia’s big banks have made text scams easier to spot. NAB removed links from its text messages in 2023, when about 40 million of its 112 million texts that year contained one. CommBank says it never includes a link in an SMS or email to log in. Westpac says it never asks you to verify your identity via a link. ANZ says it never asks you to click a link to log in. And since 1 July 2026, texts from unregistered brand names show as "Unverified." The rule is simple: a "bank" text with a link is a scam. Open the app instead.
What each bank says
| Bank | Policy | Source |
|---|---|---|
| NAB | Removed links from text messages; texts point you to the app, website or phone line instead | NAB, iTnews |
| CommBank | Never includes a link in an SMS or email to log in directly | CommBank |
| Westpac | Never asks you to verify identity by clicking a link in an email or SMS | Westpac |
| ANZ | Never asks you to click a link to log in | ANZ |
Why NAB did it
When NAB announced the change in July 2023, iTnews reported that the bank had sent 112 million messages that year, about 40 million with a link. Chief executive Ross McEwan said the aim was "to make it as simple as we can for customers to know whether a message from NAB is legitimate," and his advice was blunt: "don’t click on a link."
Two exceptions are worth knowing: at the time, subsidiaries Ubank, JBWere and Citi Consumer Bank were excluded, and a text sent by a NAB representative during a phone call you’re already on may still contain a link.
Did it work?
Removing links was one of several measures, so no single number proves it. But the trend is clear:
- NAB said reports of NAB-branded spoofing scams fell 29% (January to May 2023 compared with August to December 2022), as it worked with telcos to stop criminals getting into legitimate text threads (NAB).
- Between October 2024 and March 2025, NAB said it stopped or recovered more than $48 million heading to scammers, almost $2 million a week, and customers abandoned more than $195 million in payments after real-time alerts (NAB).
NAB’s Chris Sheehan described scammers as "experts in socially engineering people to make the payment themselves," which is why friction like alerts and no-link texts matters.
The new "Unverified" label
From 1 July 2026, texts that use a brand name as the sender but aren’t on the SMS Sender ID Register show as "Unverified" instead, grouped with other unregistered senders, according to the ACMA. ACMA member Samantha Yorke: "Scammers rely on familiar names to make fake messages look real." More in our guide to the Sender ID Register.
A verified name doesn’t make a message safe, but an "Unverified" text claiming to be your bank is a strong warning sign.
The one rule
If a text says it’s from your bank and has a link, it’s a scam. You don’t have to judge the wording, the logo or the sender name. Spoofed messages have even landed in the same thread as real ones.
It’s like a restaurant announcing it never asks for your PIN at the table. Easy test, very hard to fake around.
But watch for the workarounds
Scammers adapted. Instead of links, they now say "call this number": see the callback scam. And they ask you to read out a code: see read-back code scams.
So the full rule set:
- No links from banks in texts. Ignore any that have them.
- No calling numbers from unexpected messages. Use the number on your card or in the app.
- No reading out codes to anyone.
- No "safe accounts." Ever.
What to do with a fake
Forward it to your bank and to the ACMA’s scam text line (0429 999 888), then delete it. Full list in our reporting guide. If you already tapped a link and entered details, call your bank straight away using the number on your card.
A free exposure check shows if your email is in the breach data scammers use to target people.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Australian banks send links in text messages?
NAB removed links from its texts in 2023, and CommBank, Westpac and ANZ say they don’t send links to log in or verify identity.
Is a text from my bank with a link a scam?
Based on the banks’ own policies, treat any bank text with a login or verification link as a scam.
What does "Unverified" mean on a text in Australia?
Since 1 July 2026, texts using a brand name that isn’t on the SMS Sender ID Register are labelled "Unverified."
What should I do instead of clicking?
Open your banking app or type the bank’s website yourself.
Has removing links reduced scams?
NAB says spoofing reports fell 29% in 2023, and it stopped or recovered more than $48 million from October 2024 to March 2025 using measures including no-link texts and payment alerts.
Sources
- iTnews: NAB removes links from text messages (Jul 2023)
- NAB: NAB stops and recovers more than $48 million (May 2025)
- NAB: Scam alerts intervene in $270 million worth of payments
- ACMA: Unregistered branded SMS to be labelled "Unverified" from 1 July
- CommBank: Report hoaxes
- Westpac: Latest scams
- ANZ: Latest scams