Westpac is taking a significant step to combat fraud by launching SafeBlock, a new feature that allows customers to instantly block their accounts and cards through the app or online banking.
According to the latest report from the National Anti-Scam Centre, Australians lost over $2 billion to scams last year. Carolyn McCann, Westpac’s group executive for customer and corporate services, describes SafeBlock as a “break-glass emergency option” for customers. “From experience, we know that scammers strike when we are at our busiest, often catching unsuspecting customers. With SafeBlock, if a customer suspects they have been scammed, they can immediately block their accounts in the app, preventing further damage,” she explains.
SafeBlock is part of Westpac’s ongoing efforts to protect customers from scammers, adding to their existing initiatives such as SafeCall, SaferPay, and Verify. This launch comes shortly after Meta revealed that it has run over 230,000 scam ads on its platforms since 2019, utilizing images of mining executive Andrew Forrest to promote fake investment opportunities.
Ben Young, the bank’s head of fraud prevention, notes, “Scammers are always evolving, and we continue to see new variants. Investment scams remain the top scam in terms of dollar loss, and remote access scams, where someone offers to take control of your computer to ‘help you,’ are also very prevalent. Additionally, we’ve seen a rise in buying and selling scams on social media platforms.”