Mortgagee sales continue to decline according to Terralink data for the September quarter released today.

There were 516 mortgagee sales in the three months from July to September this year, down 15 per cent from the June quarter.

Of the 1.4 million residential mortgages in New Zealand, there were 2265 mortgagee sales in 2011. Mortgagee sales account for around 0.2 per cent of all mortgages.

“Mortgagee sales are always the last resort for banks. It’s not in anyone’s interests that they occur,” said New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope.

“Banks work very hard with customers who find themselves in financial difficulty. People who are having trouble should speak to their bank as soon as possible.”

Kirk Hope talks to Firstline about fraud safety and the year in review.

In the lead-up to Christmas the New Zealand Bankers’ Association has reminded people how to avoid fraud and scams over the holiday season.

“This is a special time of the year to share with family and friends. Whether we’re shopping or away on holiday, it pays to take care. We all have an important role to play in protecting ourselves from financial crime,” said New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope.

“We always need to take care, and the holidays are a good time to remember a few simple ways to keep ourselves safe.”

Card safety:

• Guard your card. Treat it like cash. Don’t leave it lying around. Make sure you know where your card is at all times.
• Protect your PIN. Never tell anyone your PINs or passwords – not even the police, bank staff, friends or family.
• Cover up. When entering your PIN number at ATMs and EFTPOS terminals, shield the PIN pad with your other hand. Criminals may ‘skim’ your card details by attaching a device to the card reader, and then ‘shoulder surf’ or use hidden cameras to record your PIN.
• Check your statements. Advise your bank immediately of any unauthorised transactions.

When shopping and banking online:

• Logon to internet banking by typing in your bank’s full web address. Do not use links that appear to take you to your bank’s website.
• Check you have a secure connection, which is shown by a padlock symbol somewhere on the page, and that the website address starts with ‘https://’. The ‘s’ stands for ‘secure’.
• Avoid public computers and public Wi-Fi for internet banking, e.g. internet cafes, libraries or hotels.
• Protect your identity information and only provide it to trusted people and organisations. This includes your date of birth, address, driver’s licence number and passport details.
• Shop with trusted retailers. Before you provide personal information make sure they will protect that information.
• Keep your anti-virus and firewall software up to date.
• If you suspect you’ve been taken in by a scam, contact your bank immediately.

If you use your mobile phone for banking:

• Only download apps from trusted sources
• Keep device operating systems up to date, and update apps when prompted
• Use your phone’s password lock feature
• Shield your passwords from people around you
• Change your passwords periodically, and make sure they are not easily guessable
• If available, use anti-virus software
• Contact your bank immediately if you lose your phone.

Never give anyone your PIN or internet banking username or password said the New Zealand Bankers’ Association as we head into the summer holidays

“Your bank will never ask you for this confidential information,” said New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope.

“You should never disclose passwords and other security information to anyone. If you do, you may be liable for unauthorised transactions.

“Online scammers use a range of ways to trick people into handing over personal information. Once they have that information, such as your account number, log-in details, or password, they can access your identity and your money.”

So called “phishing” attempts are usually made by email or phone. Text message phishing is called “smishing”.

“Phishers” try to disguise themselves as a bank, or other trusted person or agency, and use convincing reasons to get personal details. They say they require the personal information for reasons such as security upgrades, verifying account details, and offering refunds.

Tips to avoid phishing scams:

• Logon to internet banking by typing in your bank’s full web address. Do not use links that appear to take you to your bank’s website.
• Keep your anti-virus and firewall software up to date.
• Don’t give out account details over the phone unless you made the call and you trust that the number you called is genuine. Ask for a name and number so you can call them back, and check that number against a number you know to be genuine.
• Don’t reply to, click on any links, or open any files in spam emails. Don’t call any numbers in spam emails.
• Never send your personal details or accounts or passwords in an email.
• Check your account statements and credit card bill for unauthorised transactions.
• If you suspect you’ve been taken in by a scam, contact your bank immediately.

“Scammers are always developing new ways to get our money so it pays to be on guard. Beware lottery scams and offers of money from people you don’t know. If it seems too good to be true, it is. If you haven’t bought a ticket, you can’t win. Scammers have also been known to hack email accounts, pretend to be someone else, then email their friends asking for money,” added Hope.

Retail banks across New Zealand have stepped in to help school staff financially affected by the Novopay debacle.

“The Christmas period’s a special period for families, so the banking industry wanted to help people who hadn’t been paid and take out some of the stress from this period for them,” said Kirk Hope of the New Zealand Bankers’ Association.

New Zealand banks are wading into the Novopay disaster to offer interest-free overdrafts to teachers and school staff running short on cash.

A new initiative ensures that teachers not paid, or underpaid, because of Novopay problems, aren’t hit by bank fees and interest charges.

All retail banks are offering interest-free overdrafts to teachers and other school staff affected by the Novopay payroll system issues from now until 15 January 2013.

“Banks across the board are supporting their customers here. This issue affects the largest single payroll in the country. It’s about helping ensure affected teachers and staff continue to have access to funds over the holiday period,” says New Zealand Bankers’ Association chief executive Kirk Hope.

Banks participating in the interest-free overdraft offer are ANZ New Zealand, ASB Bank, Bank of New Zealand, The Co-operative Bank, Kiwibank, SBS Bank, TSB Bank, and Westpac New Zealand.

To take advantage of the offer affected teachers and school staff who are customers of participating banks should provide evidence to their bank, for example a letter from their school, saying they have missed payroll payments and detailing how much they are owed. Their bank will then arrange an interest-free overdraft facility on the account to which their salary is paid, or another account by arrangement.

These interest-free overdrafts are valid until 15 January and limited to the value of the total amount of payments which have been delayed.

“I encourage affected school staff to get in touch with their bank so they know they’re covered and can have some peace of mind over the holidays,” says Hope.

The Bankers Association commissioned Massey University’s Centre for Banking Studies to compare the return on shareholders’ equity for the banks, with those of the top 50 listed firms, between 2008 and 2012.