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CBA, ANZ, Westpac and NAB slammed for failing Aussies: ‘Do more’

Aussie customers lost $550 million to scams last financial year.

CBA, Westpac, ANZ and NAB logos
The Big Four banks aren’t doing enough to protect Aussies against scams, a new report found. (Source: Getty)

The Big Four banks aren’t doing enough to stop their customers from getting scammed, according to a new report.

New analysis from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) revealed Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac and NAB had detected and stopped just 13 per cent of payments customers made to scammers.

Collectively, the major banks only reimbursed about 11 per cent of scam victims. When they did offer compensation, it was only between 2 and 5 per cent of the money stolen.

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The corporate regulator said the major banks’ approaches to dealing with scams were “less mature than expected”, with only one bank having a company-wide scams strategy.

ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said while the banks had invested significantly in their anti-scam efforts, they still needed to “do more” to protect Aussies.

The report also found scam victims were not always well-supported by their bank, with banks sometimes adding “further distress” to scam victims.

“Our review found there were inconsistent experiences and outcomes for customers who were the victim of a scam and, in some cases, a bank’s response may contribute to further distress for a customer,” Court said.

“Banks need to reconsider the ways they respond to and engage with scam victims to reduce further distress and help them better manage the situation.”

Aussies lost a record $3.1 billion to scams last year, with investment scams making up the biggest losses ($1.5 billion), followed by remote-access scams ($229 million) and payment-redirection scams ($224 million).

Bank-impersonation scams - where the scammer calls or texts pretending to be a bank - are also running rampant. According to the ACCC, Aussies lost $20 million to these scams last year.

“We’d like to see the banks take steps to evolve their scam-management practises, including how they inform and educate customers and help them through what is a distressing time,” Court said.

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