Banks launched a joint effort to identify mule accounts in December and had found almost 1000 by February, New Zealand Banking Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said.
“We submit that the FMA could make it clearer that the outcomes won’t be used as a tool to penalise financial institutions for outcomes that may seem unfair with the benefit of hindsight,” the NZBA submission says.
Having previously opposed the Reserve Bank introducing debt-to-income restrictions on banks’ home loan borrowers, now they’re going ahead, the New Zealand Banking Association wants them loosened.
Scams are not just a bank problem. Banks tend to be at the end of a chain of events that leads to a criminal stealing money from someone. Scams often start when people are deceived by fake websites, emails, texts, social media ads, and phone calls. Everyone needs to play their part in preventing criminals from scamming New Zealanders. Government and other industries, including telcos, social media companies, and search engines also need to step up and join us in this battle.
“Banks were already sharing some information on money mules, but the new phase of work will increase the speed and amount of information being shared,” said NZBA chief executive Roger Beaumont.
The New Zealand Banking Association welcomes the New Zealand government’s support to help fight fraud at the inaugural Global Fraud Summit held in London this week.
NZBA chair Vittoria Shortt, who attended the summit on behalf of the New Zealand banking industry, says the commitment to support collaboration across sectors is essential to tackling fraud both internationally and in New Zealand.
“The summit communiqué, agreed by the 11 participating countries, expressly acknowledges the fraud ecosystem that criminals exploit to deceive people into making payments to them. Authorised push payment scams, for example, often start with a fake website result on a search engine, fake social media ad, email, text, or phone call. It’s crucial we engage telcos and global tech companies to help defend New Zealanders from scammers.
“We’re delighted to see these governments calling out the need for sectors to identify and remove fraudulent material from their platforms. That’s essential to strengthening New Zealand’s defences and weakening the ecosystem on which these criminals rely.
“The banking industry has stepped up with a suite of commitments to further protect customers from fraud, including bringing in a confirmation of payee service, removing links from texts to customers, and supporting the establishment of a co-ordinated multi-sector Anti-Scam Centre.
“Banks have got the Anti-Scam Centre off the ground by identifying and sharing more information faster about mule accounts used by criminals to move stolen money. Taking the Anti-Scam Centre to the next level will need the involvement of other sectors and government agencies.
“We look forward to working with the government to help realise the commitments it made this week in London.”
ENDS
Note: The Global Fraud Summit Communiqué is available here:
Roger Beaumont
Published in KPMG’s Financial Institutions Performance Survey Review of 2023, 13 March 2024
Scams targeting New Zealanders are on the rise, and they’re becoming increasingly sophisticated. The impact can be devastating, with some people losing their life savings. Because of the customer impact, and the fact that banks are often at the end of a chain of events that makes up a scam, last September our retail banks came together to announce they were working on a suite of initiatives to help prevent scams from happening.
“Banks will investigate a voluntary reimbursement scheme for customers who lose money in an authorised payment scam. That may help inform any changes to the Code of Banking Practice which sets out current customer expectations for fraud reimbursement.”
“Scammers often use weblinks or hyperlinks in text messages to gain access to people’s bank accounts. To help reduce this kind of scam risk, banks have committed to removing links from texts to customers,” NZBA chief executive Roger Beaumont said.
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