Westpac Introduces “Panic Button” As A New Way To Combat Scams
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Westpac recently came up with a new solution in hopes of disrupting scammers who continue targeting consumers. The new solution is called SafeBlock, and it operates as a panic button that users can trigger to block their accounts and cards using online banking or their phone app.
The account will be blocked instantly, thus stopping bad actors from spending victims’ money or accumulating debt on their behalf.
The solution came after Australians lost more than $2 billion to scams in 2024, based on the recent data from the National Anti-Scam Center. With preventing this sort of financial crime became increasingly difficult, Westpac developed a way to interrupt them, instead.
Commenting on the way SafeBlock works, Westpac’s group executive for customer & corporate services Carolyn McCann, said that it is a break-glass emergency option for the users. She explained that scammers strike when people are busiest, which many have felt on their own skin.
This is a common tactic to catch unsuspecting users distracted and unaware of what is going on. However, if the user suspects they are being scammed, they will be able to block their accounts in the app, thus preventing further damage. They should then reach out to the bank and explain the situation so that adequate steps can be taken to protect the funds and personal information and unblock the account after appropriate measures are taken.
The Latest In A Long Series Of Anti-Fraud Solutions
Banks have been combating scammers for years, but each time when they seem to get ahead, bad actors seemingly come up with a new approach. Many different solutions were created over the years, and SafeBlock is only the latest in a series of initiatives by the bank to protect their customers.
Apart from SafeBlock, there were other initiatives, like Verify, SaferPay, and SafeCall. The new feature comes at just the right time, too, as Meta recently confirmed it has run over 230,000 scam ads on its platform since 2019, which used images of mining boss, Andrew Forrest, to lure people in by promising fake investment opportunities.
Ben Young, the bank’s head of fraud prevention, commented on the matter by saying that scammers are always evolving, and scams keep getting new variants. Investment scams are still in the lead in terms of dollar loss, but remote access scams are also quite common.
