Australia's banks join forces to combat scammers – tips on safeguarding yourself

The Australian banking sector is intensifying its efforts to combat scams and fraudulent activities by introducing the Scam-Safe Accord. This initiative, endorsed by both the Australian Banking Association (ABA) and the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA), encompasses a comprehensive range of anti-scam initiatives that apply to the entire industry, spanning community-owned banks, building societies, credit unions, and commercial banks in Australia.

According to the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) and the Australian Banking Association (ABA), the recently formed agreement includes a wide range of steps intended to stop frauds across the board in the financial sector. This covers building societies, credit unions, commercial banks, and community-owned banks in Australia.

The introduction of a new payee confirmation system is one of the main goals of the Scam-Safe Accord, which is to guarantee that Australians send money to the people they mean to. Financial organisations are also pledging to incorporate extra security measures into their systems. When creating new accounts, consumers may be required to submit to at least one biometric verification process, such as a fingerprint or face scan. Initiating payments to unexpected recipients may also result in customers seeing more noticeable alerts and occasionally experiencing delays.

In an effort to better safeguard their customers, banks are also prepared to limit payments to high-risk channels, such as certain bitcoin sites. In addition, there will be more information exchange and industry cooperation to thwart fraud and hasten the retrieval of cash.