In order to guard against fraud and scams, the National Australia Bank froze over A$270 million in transfers to high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges.
National Australia Bank Blocks Massive Crypto Payments to Prevent Fraud Under New Precautions
Other Australian banks, including Westpac, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and ANZ, have recently taken similar actions. Several steps have been taken in the previous six months to protect customers from scammers, according to Chris Sheehan, Executive for Group Investigations and Fraud at NAB. These steps include implementing payment prompts, ceasing the usage of links in unexpected text messages, and taking action against spoofing.
What are the NAB’s Precautions?
A checklist based on unusual activity is included in the payment prompts to encourage customers to review the payment before sending it. In order to further deter scammers, NAB is now taking action to ban payments to high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges. According to Sheehan, Australia must strike a balance between speed and safety in a digital economy, and these discussions must take place.
Sheehan’s Research
When users received a real-time payment quickly via the app, 12% of payments were abandoned as a result of NAB’s participation in over $270 million worth of customer payments in the four months between March and July, which created scam worries. Even though many consumers finish their payments after they get an alert, everyday payment abandonment costs about $290,000. According to Sheehan’s research, four out of ten Australians are “extremely willing” to accept slower payments in exchange for enhanced fraud protection.
Why is NAB Taking These Precautions?
Nearly 50% of scam funds reported to the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange in a recent 30-day period were associated with cryptocurrencies, according to NAB’s disclosure. The fastest-growing security danger is cryptocurrency fraud, which cost Australians more than $221 million in 2017. In summary, NAB and other Australian banks are taking precautions to safeguard their clients from fraud and scams of this nature.
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