As Australians face an increasing surge of sophisticated scams every day, the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) has joined forces with the Australian Banking Association (ABA) to combat scammers and provide more protection to customers through the Scam-Safe Accord.
Queensland Country Bank CEO, Aaron Newman said, “The Bank welcomes the Scam-Safe Accord, and the measures it proposes to help protect Australians from scammers.
“We take our Members’ security seriously and fully support the continual development of scam-safe resources.”
The new Scam-Safe initiative outlines three key principles (disrupt, detect, respond) that Australian commercial banks, community-owned banks, building societies, and credit unions will use to guide their approach in developing a comprehensive set of anti-scam measures.
In 2022 alone, Scamwatch data shows that scammers stole $3.1 billion from Australians, making protecting customers from cyber-crime a top priority. Under the Scam-Safe Accord, Australian banks will work to introduce new and higher protections into their systems.
Queensland Country Bank has developed informative resources to help its Members to remain vigilant to keep themselves well protected from cyber criminals and scammers.
Queensland Country encourages its Members to consider whether a scammer is trying to coerce them into providing personal details by taking the approach of:
- Stop: Refrain from sharing personal information if unsure about the source requesting it
- Think: Consider whether the message could be false by taking the time to review it carefully
- Protect: Act quickly if something feels wrong and report any unusual activity to your bank, ReportCyber or Scamwatch.
Mr Newman added, “Proactively protecting our Members’ security is our top priority and we endeavour to find new ways to keep our Members safe from scammers.”