Commonwealth Bank joins anti-scam network to bolster security

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has announced its integration into a newly developed anti-scam intelligence loop, strengthening efforts to combat scams across banking, digital platforms, and telecommunications. This move, spearheaded by the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX) and the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC), represents a collaborative approach to enhancing the security of Australia's digital economy.

The anti-scam intelligence loop, co-designed by AFCX and NASC, facilitates the swift sharing of verified information between banks, telecommunications networks, internet service providers, and social media companies. This collaborative network aims to block phone numbers and URLs utilised by scammers and to take down fraudulent websites, social media advertisements, and posts.

James Roberts, General Manager of Group Fraud at CBA, reflected on the initiative as a necessary step in tackling scams that frequently originate outside the banking sector. "We view this as a 'whole-of-ecosystem' problem, with the majority of scams originating outside the banking sector, often as fake websites, texts, and social media advertisements," he said.

Roberts, who was part of the Minister's delegation to Singapore, underscored the significance of inter-industry collaboration in mitigating scam activities. He noted, "As the first bank to integrate into AFCX's intel loop, CBA is committing to sharing across industries the intelligence we collect, to help bolster the nation's response. It has been encouraging recently to see a reduction in the amount our customers are losing to scams, but there is more to do."

This development is part of a broader strategy to create a more resilient digital ecosystem by enabling faster action against scams. The collaboration between various sectors is expected to enhance preventive measures and ensure that scam-related intelligence is efficiently disseminated and acted upon.

The initiative underscores the increasing need for a unified approach to digital security that transcends individual industries and cultivates a collective response to the growing threat of online scams. By integrating into the anti-scam intelligence loop, CBA is working closely with other significant players in the digital economy to safeguard consumers and mitigate financial losses associated with scams.