Fighting SMS Scams – What type of SMS sender ID registry should be introduced in Australia?

The Australian Communications Consumer Network's (ACCAN) submission has been informed by feedback from consumer and community organisations who regularly assist consumers affected by scams and other d...

March 20, 2024

‘Honeypot’ Australia lagging far behind as nations take action on scams 

Inaction on scams is creating a ‘perfect storm’ for people living in Australia already under siege in a cost-of-living crisis, exposing the country’s vulnerable banking and communications infrastructu...

March 7, 2024

Scam victims head to Canberra to tell politicians why banks should be incentivised to stop scams

Tim Watkins, Sarah Gerendasi, James Green, and Nina Merrilees were robbed of thousands of dollars by scammers. They are travelling to Canberra today to share their stories at the launch of the new Par...

February 6, 2024

Advocates set out crystal-clear path to reimbursement to prevent the billions being lost by Australians to scams 

A coalition of advocacy groups, including Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, have come out forcefully stating that customer reimbursement, pa...

February 5, 2024

Scams – Mandatory Industry Codes Consultation Paper

Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network have been conducting regular roundtables with scams victims and consumer organisations, to develop our resp...

February 5, 2024

Banking industry announcement a big first step in addressing scams

Consumer Action Law Centre has welcomed the scams safe accord announced by the Australian Banking Association (ABA) and Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) which has involved, for the first time...

November 24, 2023

Complaints about financial firms to AFCA skyrocket as thousands of Australians left behind   

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has revealed that consumers in dispute with financial firms lodged a record 96,987 complaints in the past 12 months, an unprecedented rise of 34 pe...

July 28, 2023

OPINION: Scammers raid Australians’ accounts while banks hands-off approach stings  

Tania Clarke, Acting CEO Consumer Action Law Centre  Last year bank customers in the UK experienced a 17% drop in scam losses while in Australia, bank customers experienced a 62% increase. Between...

July 13, 2023

Australian scam victims left behind as UK puts responsibility on banks to reimburse customers  

In a world first, the UK Parliament this week passed legislation that will protect banking customers from the losses they experience as a direct result of being tricked by scammers. British banks a...

June 30, 2023

New Anti-Scam centre funding welcomed but will it help Bill who lost $20,000?

Consumer Action CEO Stephanie Tonkin has welcomed the extra funding announced in the Federal Budget for the Anti-Scam Centre, saying it’s a first step in the right direction, but deep concerns remain...

May 15, 2023

Australia’s banks failing customers by placing all the burden of the scams crisis on them says damning ASIC report 

Australia’s four major banks are failing their customers by taking a ‘variable and…less mature’ approach to scams than expected, with ‘inconsistent and narrow approaches to determining liability’ as w...

April 20, 2023

Only a Federal Government mandate forcing banks to reimburse customers will solve growing scams crisis says Consumer Action

Scammers are targeting Australians online with highly sophisticated scams, stealing $billions from ordinary families and businesses every year -and it’s getting worse! That’s the message from the Aust...

April 17, 2023

OPINION: Banks must use their windfall profits to tackle the scam crisis  

By Stephanie Tonkin, CEO, Consumer Action Law Centre   The big four banks are tipped to make record profits this financial year, with some analysts suggesting they will collectively rake in more th...

March 27, 2023

Token crypto mapping consultation paper and the need for adequate protections and safeguards

The crypto marketplace currently poses significant risk to consumers and there is a pressing need for adequate protections and safeguards. Consumer Action applauds the Government for its commitment...

March 24, 2023

Scams must be stopped: Westpac alerts for mis-matched payments and money transfer measures welcomed 

Consumer Action CEO Stephanie Tonkin says Westpac’s announcement of a new verification system for payments and money transfer measures to new accounts are “…steps in the right direction to help stop t...

March 7, 2023

OPINION: Banks, get tougher on scams

An edited version of this opinion piece appeared in the Herald Sun 18 February, 2023 You’d be hard-pressed these days to find someone who hasn’t been the target of a scam. Whether it’s a fraudulent...

February 20, 2023

Consumer Action calling on banks to block payments to scammers and reimburse victims 

Australia’s banks should  quickly introduce measures to stop scams, make their systems safer and reimburse victims or be made by Government to do so, says Consumer Action CEO Stephanie Tonkin. Ms Tonk...

February 15, 2023

A Strategic Plan for the Payments System

We consider the safety and resilience of the payments system to require urgent attention and intervention and outline the reasons for this in our joint submission with Financial Rights Legal Centre....

February 6, 2023

Australia’s banks should follow CBA’s lead and introduce stronger measures to stop scams

The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has announced it is introducing measures to strengthen its payment system that will make it harder for crooks to scam their customers. The measures called NameCheck and Cal...

February 3, 2023

OPINION: Optus data breach underscores urgent need for reforms to protect Australians from scams

Opinion piece by Gerard Brody, CEO Consumer Action The massive data breach affecting up to 9.8 million Optus customers has shone a spotlight on what can be done to protect Australians from harm and...

September 29, 2022

With scams at crisis levels, banks and payment system providers must do more 

Online and telephone scams targeting Australians are now at crisis levels and victims will continue to bear the burden of financial losses, which will only get worse without urgent action from governm...

September 8, 2022