Elders Insurance has taken “appropriate action” after it discovered an employee had asked a client to provide bank account details via text message.

Scammers use SMS to trick people into giving out personal and banking information. The messages often look genuine and sometimes copy an organisation’s logo and message format.

GM Jonathon Fox told insuranceNEWS.com.au that requesting financial information via SMS “is not a practice that is used or condoned” by Elders Insurance, which is owned by QBE.

“The incident we have been made aware of, where bank account details were requested from a customer in relation to a property claim, involved one of our staff taking it upon themselves… to use SMS technology to facilitate the communication.

“I am satisfied this was a one-off incident within our claims operation and we have taken appropriate action to ensure it is not repeated.”