CBA and Vodafone’s major move against scammers
Aussies have lost $429 million to scams this year and $24.5 million to phishing scams alone.
Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and Vodafone have teamed up in their fight against scammers, who have fleeced Aussies of more than $429 million this year alone.
The major bank and telco have announced a new pilot, which will enable them to share SMS intelligence in near real time. This will allow Vodafone to spot and disrupt scammers, while CBA will be able to put proactive blocks on suspected fraudulent payments.
Fraudulent text and email messages were the number one scam targeting CBA’s customers, general manager of group fraud James Roberts said.
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“This phenomenon, otherwise known as ‘phishing’, involves fraudsters tricking unsuspecting customers to click on an embedded link and share their online banking and card details, as well as personal information,” Roberts said.
According to the National Anti-Scam Centre, Aussies have lost more than $24.5 million to phishing scams this year.
Roberts said scammers were becoming “increasingly sophisticated” and urged Aussies to remain vigilant to a likely increase in scams during the festive season.
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“With this heightened risk, we recommend people remain alert for potential scams, including those delivered via SMS, with messages imitating major courier or postal companies,” Roberts said.
Vodafone general counsel and general manager of corporate security, Simone Sant, said the telco had blocked more than 67.8 million SMS scams this year alone, with a 45 per cent year-on-year increase in September and October.
“Our analysis shows fraudsters are scheming up new ways to scam customers out of their hard-earned cash in the lead-up to the holidays season,” Sant said.
Fight against scams
Aussie banks recently teamed up for a new Scam-Safe Accord, which is being led by the Australian Banking Association and Customer Owned Banking Association.
The accord will include a $100 million investment in new name-checking technology, which will ensure customers can confirm they are transferring money to the person they intend.
Customers can also expect to receive more warnings and delays when paying someone new or increasing their payment limits.
Earlier this year, CBA also announced a similar partnership with Telstra to detect high-risk scam situations in real time.
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