Government departments , lawenforcement agencies , telcos and banks will work together to stop scammers and alert their victims . Banks step up The Australian Banking Association ( ABA ) has announced a new Fraud Reporting Exchange ( FRX ) platform , which will allow customers to report fraudulent payments as they are being transferred to another bank .

ABA chief executive officer Anna Bligh says the initiative will boost “ the likelihood that funds can be frozen and returned to customers ” by streamlining communication between banks .

It comes after a report by ASIC showed the Australian banks stopped just 13 % of scam payments .

The federal government is promising a faster response to reports of consumer

fraud with the establishment of a $ 58 million National Anti-Scam Centre ( NASC ).

Stephen Jones , the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services , said Australians lost more than $ 3 billion to scams in 2022 alone , and scam losses have increased nearly five‐fold since 2020 . The average loss from a scam is around $ 20,000 .

Mr Jones said the NASC being established by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ( ACCC ) will be the government ’ s primary weapon to detect , disrupt , and deter scammers and tackle online fraud .

Describing it as a “ world‐leading partnership between government agencies , banks , telcos and digital platforms ” he said the NASC will :

- Use cutting‐edge technology to share intelligence across government and with authorised industry participants to interrupt scams in real time . - Combine the expertise of Government and the private sector to disrupt scams . - Raise consumer awareness on the risk of scams and how to avoid them .

ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said the commission would be using the $ 58 million in funding “ to build the technology needed to support high-frequency data sharing with a range of

agencies , law enforcement and the private sector , with the mission to make Australia a harder target for scammers ”.

“ The centre will bring together the expertise and resources to disrupt scammers making contact with Australians , raise consumer awareness about how to avoid scams , and link scam victims to services where they have lost money or had their identity compromised ,” Ms Lowe said .

“ Through increased sharing of scam reports and other initiatives , the centre will help inform finance , telecommunications and digital platforms sectors to take more timely and effective steps to stop scammers .”

The NASC will be phased in from 1 July 2023 , with capability , including datasharing technology , to be built over the next three years . Website takedown In the first year of operation , it will work closely with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission ( ASIC ) in delivering its scam website takedown service and support the Australian Communications and Media Authority ( ACMA ) in its work combatting telecommunications scams .

“ In 2022 , text messages surpassed phone calls as the most reported contact method by scammers with almost 80,000 reports about SMS scams ,” Ms Lowe said .

“ We welcome the Federal Government ’ s commitment to introduce an SMS Sender ID register , similar to that implemented in Singapore , which will

assist in disrupting impersonation scams and help consumers determine whether a text message using a sender ID is from a trusted source .”

Since receiving seed funding in October 2022 , the ACCC has been consulting on the future work of the NASC and opportunities to better protect consumers from scams . Centralise intelligence Ms Lowe said $ 44 million of the government funding would be used on technology enabling the NASC to :

- Receive a report of a scam from any institution ( private or government ) and centralise this intelligence .

- Distribute data to those who need it most – such as banks to freeze an account , telcos to block a call , and digital platforms to take down a website or account .

- Analyse and act on the trends sourced from this data to disrupt scams and educate Australians . The government says the initiative will change the way scams are dealt with by :

- Facilitating faster responses . When a report is made to police or regulators , information will be shared more quickly .

- Establishing “ fusion cells ” of experts from industry and law enforcement to act on scam trends .

- Introducing a “ white list ” of approved phone numbers , blocking SMS messages unless they ’ re from an authorised agency . [ Courtesy of National Seniors ]