Banks, telecommunication companies, and tech giants such as Facebook will need to show they’re working to prevent and protect their customers from being scammed or face hefty fines.
Businesses failing to combat scammers will face penalties of up to $50 million under draft new laws announced by the federal government on Friday.
Over 600,000 scam reports were filed nationwide last year, according to the latest Target Scams report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said the new mandatory codes will put the onus back on businesses to protect Australians from losses, which
“The Albanese Government is working to make Australia the toughest target in the world for scammers,” he said on Friday.
“New obligations on all of them to ensure that they’re preventing, disrupting, reporting and taking the fight up to scammers … Which will ensure they’re doing more to keep their customers safe.”
Government to introduce Scams Prevention Framework
The federal government wants to establish a Scams Prevention Framework, which will set out obligations for businesses to prevent, detect, report, disrupt, and respond to scams.
In practice under the code, banks will have to do more to confirm the identity of payees before they allow them to transfer money out.
Telecommunication companies will be forced to crack down on scam messages and phone calls.
The government said the framework signals a shift in approach and means companies need to be accountable for scams that occur across their businesses.
Companies may be forced to compensate victims.
Jones said tech giants such as Google, Tiktok and Facebook weren’t doing “enough to keep their networks safe”, with fake material “robbing Australians of billions”.
“There’ll be new obligations on social media platforms in the codes of practice to ensure that they’re confirming the identity of the people who are advertising on those platforms to ensure that the criminals don’t have an easy means of publishing their fake investment materials,” he said.
The government will establish an independent tribunal for victims of scams to seek compensation and make the process of money retrieval easier for Australians.
Jones said the ACCC will have extensive new powers under the laws to “ensure they’re keeping the system safe and going after businesses who do the wrong thing”.
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) welcomed the move.
“Australia has made progress, with scam losses falling, however holding all parts of the scams chain to account is the only way to properly protect the community,” ABA CEO Anna Bligh said in a statement.
“These codes must address the core problem of people being exposed to scams in the first place. That means ensuring telcos and the social media platforms have strong protections in place to stop scams reaching Australians.”
The legislation is now open for public consultation, with the government hoping to pass the laws early next year.
Source Agencies
