Digital investments to empower customers in scam war

Bankwest is introducing the first phase of a new package of investment in digital services aimed at empowering and protecting customers in the war against scammers.

Bankwest has launched NameCheck, which provides customers more detail on transaction recipients, making the financial institution one of only three Australian banks to offer the service.

The bank is also securing its Bankwest Alpha Tags (refer to ‘What is an Alpha Tag?’ overleaf), which offer customers confidence in SMS communications from Bankwest.

The two initiatives are part of Bankwest's commitment to focusing investment into technology and digital services to deliver simpler, safer and more accessible experiences for customers as it transforms into a digital bank.

The NameCheck feature, which is now available in the Bankwest App and Bankwest Online Banking – cross-checks entered information with the information registered for that account, highlighting any potential mismatches.

Customers whose entered information does not align with those registered for the account will receive a warning message, advising of the potential scam or error, and are prompted if they want to continue with the transaction.

Alpha Tags are an SMS feature that show recipients the sender’s business name instead of a phone number. By securing the Bankwest Alpha Tags, key telco partners block any third-party messages impersonating Bankwest and only legitimate messages are delivered with the “Bankwest” or “BW Collect” Tags.

The two initiatives follow Bankwest’s 6 March announcement on its digital future, and kick start a wave of focused investment in its digital and broker channels to meet the needs and expectations of more customers nationwide.

Bankwest Head of Payments, Fraud and Scams Philippa Costanzo said: “Our customers expect secure, easy and effortless digital and broker services and we’re accelerating investment to meet their changing needs.”

“We know scammers are employing increasingly sophisticated techniques and multi-layered scams that, for example, can begin as an SMS scam, before evolving into an impersonation and account takeover scam.

“The introduction of NameCheck and Bankwest’s securing of its unique Alpha Tags mean customers now have increased transparency, leading to more confidence, in their payment transactions and communications with us.

“Bankwest aspires to be Australia’s favourite digital bank and we’ll continue to invest in services that better protect customers from scams and fraud and offer more secure, simple and accessible digital experiences in the future.”

Bankwest’s Top 5 tips for protecting against scams:

1. Never give out personal information, including one-time SMS codes, to unknown third parties, even those who present as legitimate – Bankwest and other financial institutions will never ask for this information.
2. Never let unknown/unverified third parties access your devices, such as those people who contact you advising they need access to your device to correct a fault or remove a virus.
3. Always verify unsolicited calls by hanging up and calling the number on the official website.
4. Don’t click on suspicious text pop-up windows from websites, such as those informing you of an unexpected cash or prize win.
5. Don’t click on links or open attachments in emails and/or text messages from unverified senders, and, if the content concerns you or requires action, call the official number to confirm its legitimacy.

What is NameCheck?
NameCheck is a security tool that searches the account details customers have entered when making a first-time payment in Bankwest Online Banking or the Bankwest App.

Based on our available payment data, NameCheck will then indicate whether the account details look right. For example, if an account name has never been previously used for a particular BSB and account number, customers will be prompted to take further steps to help ensure they’re paying the intended recipient.

How does Namecheck work?
NameCheck uses advanced algorithms to review the account details customers enter against available payment information then customers are provided one of five results to indicate the likelihood that the account name matches the account.

What responses will customers receive when entering new payee data?

• The account name seems to match the account.
• The account name doesn’t seem to match the account.
• There’s a different name more commonly used for this account.
• We haven’t seen enough payments to indicate if the account details look right.
• BSB and account number not found.

Each result comes with an explanation and prompts on what customers should do next if things don’t look right.

What is Alpha Tag?
Alpha Tags are the unique sender’s name or identifier on an SMS that customers get from a business, much like a contact name. Often fraudulent SMS appear to be legitimate using a brand tag and Bankwest has now taken steps to stop fraudulent messages appearing within a valid Bankwest SMS thread, preventing customers being tricked into clicking on links within the text message.

Working with Telstra, Optus and other key telcos, Bankwest has locked down the Bankwest Alpha Tag to block any third-party text messages. This will stop scammers at the source - protecting the trusted brand name from being impersonated and customers from being scammed. All legitimate SMSs sent from Bankwest will come from ‘Bankwest’ and from the end of June the ‘BW Collect’ Alpha Tag will also be locked down.

What scam technology is coming this year?
Further to the launch of NameCheck this week, Bankwest has other scam and fraud protections in development for delivery in the coming months including:

• expanding the use of biometrics across products to minimise the opening of fraudulent accounts and
• developing technology to communicate with customers more quickly regarding potential fraud and scams and send secure, automated notifications to customers on their mobile devices.