Trade body highlights ongoing anti-fraud efforts
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) has welcomed new data from the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) showing a continued decline in scam losses.
According to the latest NASC quarterly report, scam losses reported to Scamwatch in the first quarter of 2024 fell by 10.8% compared to the previous quarter. In addition, losses reported to the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange decreased by 41.2%.
“This is further evidence that inroads are being made in the fight against scammers,” said Anna Bligh (pictured), chief executive of the Australian Banking Association. “While it’s encouraging that losses are falling, Australians are still losing too much money to the criminal gangs behind many of the scams that are out there.”
Bligh highlighted the strength of Australian banks’ anti-scam measures, noting their ongoing efforts to block payments to high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges and suspicious accounts.
“Our industry is also pushing ahead with implementing our Scam-Safe Accord which will set an even higher standard of protection by banks to protect consumers from scammers,” she said.
Bligh also welcomed the $37.3 million in additional funding announced in last week’s Federal Budget for the implementation of mandatory industry scam codes.
“Banks back mandatory industry codes,” she said. “However, in order to best shield Australians from scammers, it’s critical that all part of the scams chain get behind these mandatory codes, including social media platforms.”
The banking industry’s Scam-Safe Accord includes several key measures, including a $100 million investment by banks in a new confirmation-of-payee system to ensure people are transferring money to the correct recipient; the introduction of more warnings and payment delays to protect customers; the adoption of further technology and controls to help prevent identity fraud; a major expansion of intelligence sharing across the sector; and implementation of anti-scam strategies by all banks.
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