With one scam reported almost every minute in Australia, it’s no wonder people are concerned. Behind every incident is someone who may have lost money and confidence.

 

As technology evolves, so do the tactics we see scammers using. AI and new technology are allowing scammers to reach more people with more convincing lies.

 

At the same time, banks and others across the ecosystem are investing heavily to detect scams and stop people from losing money. At Westpac our systems analyse over 30 million transactions every day and we’ve prevented customers from losing over $200 million to scammers in the past six months alone.

 

We will keep running hard at this problem but the reality is, we can’t solve it alone.

 

Social media scams prevail

 

Scams typically start long before any money leaves someone’s account. For the most part, they start on digital platforms where these criminals can reach millions of people at speed.

 

Around 60 per cent of the scams reported to us lately have reached people via social media. Criminals use these platforms to advertise fake investments, impersonate trusted brands and build relationships with victims before any payments are made. In some cases, bank accounts are openly bought and sold through these platforms too.

 

This illegal activity needs to be stopped.

 

Banks work hard to stop scam payments but the biggest impact would come from stopping scams where they start. That means stronger action from the social media platforms operating here in Australia.

 

These companies have built extraordinary platforms that connect people and help businesses grow but it’s really important that this technology isn’t being exploited to harm the people who use it.

 

Stronger action for better protection

 

To make a meaningful difference, we need faster detection and removal of scam content from these platforms, processes in place to notify people who may have interacted with scams and better verification of advertisers.

 

As banks we’re required to know our customers. Social media platforms should be required to know their advertisers too. If scam ads are allowed to remain on a platform, that company is both fuelling and profiting from scams.

 

We’ve seen some encouraging signs of progress, including through the Government’s Scam Prevention Framework as it recognises that scam prevention requires everyone to play a role. This includes clearer obligations for the digital platforms, as well as banks and telcos.

 

But as the saying goes, prevention is better than the cure and I think the same can be said when it comes to scams.

 

We need to keep making Australia a harder place for scammers to operate, shutting scams down before they can cause any harm.

 

The conversation around reimbursement models is important but we need to get it right. Victims need support but Australia also needs to avoid settings that treat the loss without stopping the crime.

 

We can see an example of how this has played out in the UK, where they introduced a reimbursement framework in late 2024 to compensate scam victims. Unfortunately the latest data out of the UK shows scam losses and cases have continued to rise since it was introduced, as it attracted more scammers.

 

Where to from here

 

As a country, our priority should be to improve detection and prevention measures and this includes lifting expectations on the platforms where scams originate. This will make it harder for criminals to reach Australians in the first place.

 

Australians deserve a system that works together to help keep them safe and it’s only with co-ordinated action across government, banks, telco companies and social media platforms that we can really step up the fight against scammers.