Better together to tackle scams
The Suncorp and QUT Scam Prevention Workshop brought together experts from across the justice, finance and government sectors to explore the impact scams have on Australians and how everyone can work together to better protect customers from the threat of this criminal activity.
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Scams are a significant challenge in our society and the stigma attached can prevent victims from taking action by leaving them feeling powerless and humiliated. To help tackle scams, the financial industry and industry regulators have come together to develop a unified and industry-wide approach. The Suncorp and QUT Scam Prevention Workshop brought together experts from across the justice, finance and government sectors to explore the impact scams have on Australians and how everyone can work together to better protect customers from the threat of this criminal activity. Matt Leslie, Executive General Manager of Suncorp Group’s Customer Advocate said scams are such a large-scale global issue, that an industry-wide response is key to creating change in how scams are perceived, how they can be prevented and how impacted customers can be better supported. “With scams costing Australians almost half a billion dollars each year, it is vital that the financial industry comes together to leverage our knowledge, data and understanding of scammers to develop solutions that will help protect our customers from both the financial and emotional impact of scams,” Matt said. |
With scams costing Australians almost half a billion dollars each year, it is vital that the financial industry comes together to leverage our knowledge, data and understanding of scammers to develop solutions that will help protect our customers from both the financial and emotional impact of scams.
Matt Leslie, Suncorp Group's Executive General Manager, Customer Advocate
“Scams and scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to scams will improve customer understanding and awareness of scams and help financial institutions better identify different types of scams which will ultimately benefit our customers.”
Dr Cassandra Cross from QUT’s School of Justice, an expert in the field of fraud and scams, helped lead the Preventing Scams Workshop and said the information and insights shared at the workshop will help form next steps in tackling scams.
“There is power in numbers, and by working together we will build awareness and education with customers, improve employee awareness in financial institutions, re-imagine processes, use data to facilitate early interventions, and advocate for change,” Cassandra said.
“Underpinning these actions are the philosophies that prevention is better than cure and if that’s not possible, early intervention has the best chance of disrupting the scams cycle.
“To facilitate this, we also need to have constructive conversations across society about how scams happen, and who it happens to. It’s about helping people understand that we are all at risk and removing the stigma, shame, and isolation that can come with victimisation – as this is what the offenders rely upon.
“It is vital that we approach every customer who experiences scams without judgement and provide them the support they need to get back on their feet.”
Discussions and recommendations from the Suncorp and QUT Scam Prevention Workshop are currently being unpacked to develop next steps for the industry to adopt and embed.
*This event was hosted before the federal government imposed social distancing measures.
