“We’re seeing a decline in fraud losses, which is great. I believe it’s the first year-on-year decline in over five years,” says Johnson. “We’ve been focused on fraud over the last few years and have invested heavily in education, prevention, and detection and response.”
One of the biggest frauds Shaq’s team has observed is what is known as bank fraud. These scams are very difficult to detect and criminals are becoming increasingly adept at mimicking the way banks treat their customers.
“When we see something unusual in one of our customers’ accounts, we often call them to find out what’s going on and ask them a series of questions. And that’s exactly what the scammers do,” says Johnson.
“They contact our customers via text message, telling them there is something unusual on their accounts and asking them to call. Or sometimes they call our customers and say, ‘We have detected unusual activity on your account.'”
The scammers then ask customers to do certain things, such as confirming their personal information or transferring the money to another “safe” account. They often use fear and pressure tactics to get customers to act quickly and without thinking. These are things the bank would never ask.
“One of the key differences is that we never ask our customers for personal information, such as their credit card number, PIN number or login information, when we contact them,” says Johnson.
“We certainly wouldn’t ask them to transfer money to another account. If we have concerns about the security of their accounts, we will take steps to protect their accounts.”
Artificial intelligence
One factor that makes some scams harder to detect is the use of artificial intelligence. Fraudsters use it to enhance written messages, SMS and emails for phishing scams.
AI is also used to create deep fake advertisements or voice clones on social media to lure customers into a scam. Criminals can also use AI to sift through massive amounts of data to link details to victims, making attacks more personalized and convincing.
“We used to tell our customers to look out for grammatical or spelling mistakes or bad English. In most cases, that’s no longer the case. Customers receive really high-quality emails or SMS.”
Conversely, banks are also using AI to combat fraud. For example, they analyze huge amounts of data and transaction information to detect possible fraud attempts.
“We need to do a lot of experimentation to understand the opportunities that new technologies like AI offer us to better protect our customers,” says Johnson.
However, one piece of advice from banks and other companies has not changed: if you think you have been a victim of fraud, contact the bank as soon as possible. These transactions are processed incredibly quickly and even minutes can make a difference.
“If your personal information has been compromised and there is a risk of unauthorized activity, you need to act quickly,” says Johnson. “Your bank is in a much better position to initiate recovery of your funds, and we can take steps to protect the security of your account.”
Amanda Schultz is Media and PR Manager at ANZ.
