- “This will help bring back flexibility and discretion for banks to help customers in need, for example in emergency situations, and better recognises that banks already have their own prudent lending policies, which help ensure borrowers can afford to repay any debt.”
- “We’re also asking the government to help remove any regulatory barriers to the Anti-Scam Centre working effectively, and to set scam prevention expectations for other industries,” Beaumont said.
- “Banks have launched phase one of the Anti-Scam Centre by identifying and sharing more information faster about mule accounts. We’d like to see other sectors in the scam ecosystem contribute to the Anti-Scam Centre, and the Government can help encourage them to do so,” Beaumont says.
- “To truly strengthen New Zealand’s scam defences, everyone in the ecosystem needs to step up, and that includes government, telcos, social media companies, and search engines. Banks can’t protect New Zealanders on their own.”
- The NZBA has requested operational support from other government agencies, that letters of expectation be sent to relevant industry participants such as telcos and social media companies, and that the Commerce and Consumer Affairs minister help co-ordinate action.
- “Scams aren’t just a bank problem – people are deceived by fake websites, emails, texts, and social media ads. Government and other industries, particularly social media companies, also need to step up.”
- Banks already invest significantly in fraud analytics and prevention to identify unusual customer spending patterns, warn customers of potential scams, and shut down fake bank websites and phone numbers used in scams, he says.
