Today the Albanese Government will join a cutting‑edge intel exchange between Australian banks, telecommunications companies, digital platforms, and the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX).
The National Anti Scam Centre will join the AFCX intel loop, which enables near real time data sharing between participants about the latest tactics and tools used by scammers.
The partnership will increase the capacity to disrupt and intercept scammer contact with victims and help identify and take down scammer websites.
The NASC will share and receive intel such as scam phone numbers, URLs, and bank accounts that are core tools scammers use to ply their act. This means that whether a person reports a scam to a bank, a telco or to Scamwatch, we can use the intel loop to stop this scam from harming more Australians.
Collaboration across the scam ecosystem is a core weapon the government is using to fight back against scammers.
This announcement comes after the Assistant Treasurer led a delegation of industry leaders to meet with New Zealand and Singaporean counterparts in Singapore in a show of strength against scammers.
The Albanese government is implementing a world leading anti‑scam plan, that has already seen scam losses fall for the first time since 2016.
This includes standing up the National Anti‑Scam Centre, and funding the Australian Securities Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) to take down fake investment websites and establish the SMS Sender ID register to stop scammers from spoofing trusted brand names. Already these tools have led to over 5000 website takedowns and 100 million scam text messages blocked in the final quarter of 2023.
The Albanese government is further strengthening consumer protections with legislation planned to impose tough obligations on banks, telcos, and social media companies to get scammers off their services.
Quotes attributable to Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones MP:
“We are positioning Australia as a leader when it comes to fighting scammers and it’s all about making this country the hardest place for scammers to operate.
“The idea of the intel loop is simple, it is all about putting forward a united, coordinated front so scammers can’t reach their victims.
“Scammers aren’t mugs, they’re cunning criminals who adapt and change their tactics and we need to be able to do the same. Having near real time data sharing is vital that.”