Overseas retailers with false advertising for popular products are costing Australians hundreds of millions each year
Westpac has joined the list of big corporations that are choosing to proactively protect customers from cyber crime.
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Westpac has started to automatically block customer payments to overseas retailers deemed to be of “high risk” for scam activity. The technology was launched after last year’s system trial successfully blocked more than 11,000 potential scams and saved more than $1.2 million.
When a scam is detected during an online card payment, the transaction will automatically be blocked and a text message will be sent to the Westpac customer. If the customer believes the payment is legitimate, they can contact the bank's scam assistance team to allow the payment proceed.
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The bank said customers have chosen not to proceed with the transaction after getting the scam alert in over 99% of cases.
“Online shopping scams are on the rise and we're seeing more overseas retailers targeting Australians with false advertising for popular products like diet pills, supplements, dating subscriptions, and business services,” Chris de Bruin, Westpac chief executive consumer and business banking told nine.com.au. “With our research showing these scams are costing Australians hundreds of millions each year, we're ramping-up our investment in technologies which will help detect scams and prevent customers getting swindled. Over the past two months, we have stopped 69,000 customers losing more than $6 million through our scam blocks with customers saving an average of $87.”
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The technology analyses a customer’s transaction patterns and monitors the attributes of overseas merchants. It blocks the transaction if the payment is seen to be out of the ordinary – or is for a fake product.
“We want to help put a stop to online scams by blocking retailers who may be misrepresenting what they’re selling or duping Aussies into handing over money for products they'll never receive,” Ben Young, Westpac head of fraud, told nine.com.au. “The technology adds another layer of security for our customers shopping online and intervenes when they are making a purchase with a suspect retailer. The new capability builds on our existing 24/7 fraud detection systems, which focus on preventing transactions on stolen or copied cards. We encourage customers to remain vigilant when shopping online. If a customer believes they have been the victim of a scam, they should call us as soon as possible. We have a specialist team of staff trained to assist customers impacted by scams.”
