Bankwest’s 2024 Safe and Savvy Report has revealed how technology tools are handing power back to customers in the fight against scammers, as recorded scam cases increased almost 50 per cent over the past financial year.
The Bankwest Safe and Savvy Report has been released in support of Scams Awareness Week, which this year begins 26 August, highlighting defence strategies and identifying the most common methods used by scammers.
Bankwest’s Safe and Savvy Report showed a 129 per cent year-on-year lift in Phishing scams, the most common method, leading to an overall increase of 47 per cent in cases.
Remote Access and Investment (both 11%) were the equal second most common method employed by criminals.
Scammers largely took advantage of older Australians, with those over 55-years-old accounting for three quarters of the total exposure value across all scams and largely targeted by Phishing and Investment scams.
The rise in scams is now being challenged by new technology investment, with customers using ‘NameCheck’ to double check potential scam payments and mistaken payments more than 354,000 times since its introduction.
Bankwest’s introduction of NameCheck on 10 June has resulted in customers actioning more than 44,500 click-backs – more than 12 per cent of all transactions – to double check account payment details (as of 20 August).
Bankwest became just the third Australian bank to launch NameCheck, a feature that cross-checks entered account information against available payment information to warn of any mismatches and potential scams.
The service is critical in tackling scam methods that utilise false or misappropriated details, such as scammers posing as a legitimate contact or altering invoices to replace bank details with those of accounts they control.
In addition, Bankwest’s locking down of its Alpha Tags has been a critical investment in tackling phishing scams.
Alpha Tags are the name identifiers on SMS messages, which scammers can attempt to hijack to inject scam messages into existing legitimate message threads, appearing to have originated from a legitimate business.
Bankwest has worked with telcos to lockdown “Bankwest” and “BW Collect”, providing certainty for customers and enabling carriers to block illegitimate actors, with data from one telco showing no spam cases since April’s launch.
Bankwest also began introducing cryptocurrency real-time digital hold and declines in June 2023, with more than 40,000 customers having had a hold/decline placed on $221m of crypto transactions due to the interventions.
Bankwest last financial year also presented a range of scams and fraud education sessions, webinars and direct communications to community groups and customers in Western Australia.
Bankwest Head of Payments, Scams and Fraud Philippa Costanzo said: “Bankwest aspires to be Australia’s favourite digital bank and we’re accelerating investment to deliver simpler, safer, and more accessible experiences.
“The Safe and Savvy Report has been released around Scams Awareness Week to highlight the prevalence of the threats, with advances in technologies, such AI generation, helping scammers become increasingly sophisticated.
“That was why introducing NameCheck and locking down Bankwest’s Alpha Tags was so critical in providing customers confidence and transparency in their communications and transaction activity.
“Most scams originate outside of the regulated banking system, be that phone calls, fake investment ads on social, and SMS and email, requiring a holistic response from big tech, telcos and banks, focused on scam sources.
“Bankwest has committed to significant investment in its digital channels to support customers in banking safely and securely, but the best defence will always be for customers to stay vigilant and informed of the threats.
“We encourage customers to remember three simple steps – stop, check, and reject – to ensure they pause and think before acting, check with a trusted contact or organisation, and reject any contact they’re unsure about.
“The most important rule for customers to remember is to never give out SMS one-time passcodes, even to someone purporting to be from Bankwest, because that is a critical component to protecting your accounts.”
Scams methods to be aware of
- Business email compromise: a scammer gains access to a legitimate business’ email and issued invoices with payment details for accounts they control.
- Phishing: the sending of communications – usually email or SMS – purporting to be from reputable companies to induce individuals to reveal information, and usually urge victims to click on links.
- Remote access: scammers impersonate trusted entities – often a telecommunications company, bank, or IT organisation – to trick victims into granting them remote control over their device.
- Investment: cold calls from ‘investment managers’, or people/ads on social media offer a chance to make quick cash or extremely high returns, often with a sense of urgency for a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’.
- Relationship: the grooming of victims – sometimes over long periods of time – to gain trust, then financial, gain under the guise of health issues, family problems, travel expenses or other personal issues.
- Threat/penalty: the use of threats of harm, arrest, legal action, or other demands to force victims into handing over money or personal information, and can include sexual extortion.
- Unexpected money: scammers suggest you are owed or entitled to money or winnings that you did not expect to receive but require a payment of a lesser sum to gain access to the purported larger sum.
Tips to stay scam safe
- Use a secure login: use a PIN, biometrics, and two-factor authentication/step-up SMS codes to access accounts instead of usernames and passwords, but equally ensure passwords are strong and unique.
- Stay up to date with browsing security: be cautious using public WiFi networks and ensure your computer is protected with antivirus/antimalware software to help protect you online.
- Customise your alerts: set up Easy Alerts in the Bankwest App to help keep track of your banking and any transactions that appear suspicious in real-time.
- Beware of giveaways or investment opportunities on social media: investments outside official financial channels can be fraught with danger, and it’s rare to get anything for free with no strings attached.
- Don’t rush: always take time to check if text and email messages are legitimate, or the person calling seems genuine, as scams will often have a sense of urgency attached to them.
