New Zealand Banks to Adopt New Scam Prevention Measures

Roger Beaumont, chief executive of the New Zealand Banking Association, said the joint commitment by retail banks was expected to have a positive effect in tackling fraud and scams.

He said the banking industry supports the linking of a centralized and coordinated national Anti-Scam Centre, the provision of an account name checking service, the removal of web links from all text messages sent to customers, and the investigation of real-time information sharing between scams-affected organisations. He also said the timing of these measures is based on their complexity and feasibility.

A total of 1,950 fraud cases involving NZ$4.2 million were reported in the second quarter of 2023, according to data released by the New Zealand governments Computer Emergency Response Team.

Australia, where four of New Zealand's largest retail banks are headquartered, is also proactively preventing fraud and reducing economic losses caused by scams by setting up an expert panel of government, law enforcement, and private sector personnel to prevent scams.