Warning: Kimberley Businesses Targeted by Bank Impersonation Scam

Scammers are targeting businesses in Western Australia's remote Kimberley, with multiple attempts to steal tens of thousands of dollars prompting a warning from two of Australia's major banks.

The East Kimberley Chamber of Commerce and Industry said at least four businesses in Kununurra, 3,000 kilometres north of Perth, were targeted by impersonation scams last week, with one falling victim.

Chamber chief executive Keda Bond said the organisation had received several calls from concerned family businesses.

Businesses are receiving calls from people impersonating NAB staff.

Ms Bond said one business owner recorded the deceivingly 'real' fake call.

Kununurra business owner Troy Lewis received a scam call from a person claiming to work for Westpac.

More than $6.5 million has been lost to telephone scammers in 2025 through hacking, identity theft, phishing and downloading remote access software, according to Scamwatch.

NAB executive Chris Sheehan said while customers had reported a decrease in impersonation scams over recent years, the operations remained a 'global epidemic' with 'devastating consequences'.

Westpac's fraud protection team head Ben Young said while bank scams were not new, the bank was seeing an increase in scammers targeting regional businesses.

Mr Young said scammers operated as a 'global business', predominantly operating from South-East Asia.

Both NAB and Westpac reiterated the importance of technology and education in reducing the impact of scams on customers.

Anyone subject to potential banking fraud should contact their bank.

Other tips include:

• Never providing codes or passwords
• Never downloading any remote access software
• Being skeptical of cold calls from anyone claiming to be a banking employee
• Asking for a customer reference number before calling the official bank number listed online.