Australia’s Commonwealth Bank has announced that it has successfully reduced customer scam losses by 50% in FY24, achieved through a combination of innovative anti-scam technologies, collaborative efforts across various industries, and enhanced customer education.
The bank’s new anti-scam measures include the Confirmation of Payee system, known as NameCheck, the CallerCheck impersonation scam blocker, and the in-branch verification tool, CustomerCheck. Notably, CommBank was the first institution to connect to Australia’s new anti-scam intelligence network, which facilitates quicker reporting and removal of scams across major tech companies, telecommunications, and financial institutions. Recently, the bank submitted over 1,500 reports containing scam phone numbers and URLs for blocking and takedown.
James Roberts, CommBank’s general manager of group fraud, stated, “CommBank customer scam losses have halved compared to the previous financial year, with CommBank NameCheck technology preventing scam payments totaling more than an estimated $40 million. Additionally, NameCheck prevented over $370 million in mistaken payments in the year ending June 2024.”
Roberts emphasized that despite the progress, Australians continue to fall victim to scams, highlighting that banks, telecommunications, and social media platforms must enhance their efforts to combat these issues. In 2023, the majority of reported scam losses stemmed from contact initiated through phone calls, social media, or email.
“Most scams originate outside the regulated banking system—contact from scammers via phone, fake investment advertisements on social media, and suspicious SMS messages and emails are common methods. This necessitates a coordinated response from the entire ecosystem, including big tech, telecommunications, and banks, to effectively tackle the source of these scams,” Roberts added.