Australian ‘Big 4’ bank begins trial for cryptocurrency payment blocks

Westpac, one of Australia’s ’Big 4’ banks, is launching its first trial of scam protection measures specifically designed to combat fraudulent activities related to cryptocurrencies.

These protection measures aim to mitigate losses from scams with the hope of reducing potential risks.

Based on the announcement, investment scams make up approximately 50% of all customer losses related to scams while around one-third of all scams involve direct transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges, making them extremely difficult to trace, according to the data provided by Westpac.

The Westpac ban comes on the same day that Binance customers were told they could no longer use PayID to transfer Australian dollars into their Binance accounts. Binance said a “third-party provider” had placed restrictions on the exchange, affecting bank transfer withdrawals for the time being.

According to Scott Collary, Westpac’s group executive of customer services and technology, while digital exchanges have a legitimate role in the financial ecosystem, the rise of digital currency has led to an increase in scammers utilizing overseas exchanges.

Throughout late May, Westpac plans to gradually introduce a phased trial of the new crypto payment protection blocks. This trial is introduced in addition to other recent initiatives like Westpac Verify. This feature notifies customers of potential account name mismatches when making payments to a new bank-state-branch (BSB) and account number or sending money to an account that Westpac has no prior transaction history with.

Related: Can you recover stolen Bitcoin from crypto scams?

Consumer advocacy group Choice reports that Australians have suffered losses exceeding $129 million due to cryptocurrency scams. In 2021 alone, the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission received over 12,000 reports related to such scams.

Crypto investment scams exhibit warning signs such as deceptive social media ads, fraudulent websites, forged documents, and the use of spoofing software.

Additionally, scammers may possess undisclosed personal information or attempt to manipulate targets into taking action during phone conversations.

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