ANZ invests in new anti-scam measures to protect Australian customers

The ANZ bank has announced a raft of measures to protect its customers from opportunistic scammers.

The bank has deployed over 170 new algorithms that have so far prevented the loss of over $20 million in customer losses over a range of payment channels. It is also investing in new artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities that can detect “mule accounts” — accounts that are being used to receive money from the victims of scams.

Payments to high-risk cryptocurrency platforms are also being curtailed, alongside delays and hold of some payment types.

ANZ has said it is also working with the major telco operators to set up a Do Not Originate that helps prevent scammers from using the bank’s name as a label in text messages — otherwise known as spoofing.

============

Shaq Johnson, head of customer protection at ANZ, believes the new measures are essential in keeping the community safe.

“The threat of scammers is not new,” Johnson said in an announcement. “Our advancements mean we are better placed to keep our customers safe from the threat of scams.”

“The challenge is that as soon as we close one avenue, the scammers quickly move to try and open another,” Johnson said. “We continue to invest millions of dollars in new technology. As a result, over the last nine months, we’ve prevented $61 million from going to cyber criminals.

“There is a whole of community response needed to scam prevention, and while banks play a critical role, customers need to protect themselves and be extremely vigilant and suspicious of unsolicited contact.”

David Hollingworth

David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.