Bendigo Bank’s message to customers to stop, think and protect to reduce losses to investment scams

Bendigo Bank is issuing an essential message to customers about the role they can play to help slow the rise of investment scam losses after introducing a new series of fraud mitigation and prevention measures including doubling of the size of its fraud prevention and response team.

The new measures have contributed to the blocking of an estimated $38.6 million in fraudulent transactions by the Bank in financial year 2023, as it continues looking for new ways to protect its customers from scams and fraud. Bendigo Bank’s Head of Fraud Jason Gordon said investment scams, in particular, presented a challenge for the industry and its customers.

“Data from the ACCC shows that investment scams are on the rise. They are also the costliest, representing around half the value of all the money lost by Australians in scams. Investment scams can be very sophisticated which is why we need our customers to stop, think and protect,” Mr Gordon said.

STOP – Don’t give money or personal information to anyone if unsure.
THINK – Ask yourself could the message or call be fake?
PROTECT – Act quickly if something feels wrong.

Investment scams target individuals and businesses, using convincing marketing and new technology. Promising attractive returns with little or no risk, investment scams may use high pressure tactics or impersonate trusted or public figures or brands, with social media a popular place for scammers to find victims.

“Investment scams may be hard to spot. It could be an offer to purchase cryptocurrency, participate in a business venture, a superannuation scheme, a managed fund or the sale, or purchase of shares or property. A scam might look like a genuine ad or might come from someone you’ve met online – even someone you know or trust.”

“But one thing they have in common is willing ‘investors’ to take the bait. Sadly, the victims who volunteer access to their accounts and transfer money to the criminals rarely see their funds returned,” said Mr Gordon.

When it comes to determining whether an investment opportunity is legitimate, Mr Gordon recommends performing detailed checks such as obtaining independent legal and financial advice.

“Be mindful that some investment scams may even provide initial monetary returns to encourage victims of these scams to deposit additional funds, which won’t be returned’, said Mr Gordon.

Mr Gordon says cryptocurrency is a popular vehicle for investment scams. Data from the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange shows 47 per cent of scam funds were directed to accounts associated with cryptocurrency exchanges in the last 30 days of financial year 2023, alone.

Money lost to crypto scams is often untraceable and hard to retrieve, which is why Bendigo Bank is blocking payments to high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges.

Bendigo Bank has partnered with industry leaders in fraud protection to detect and neutralise threats early and is also a member of the Fraud Reporting Exchange. The independent, not-for-profit was established by the banks and is now enabling collaboration and data sharing with more than a dozen other financial institutions via a central, quick-reporting platform to help catch, stop and recover as much money as possible when customers fall victim to scammers.

These measures join a host of others employed by Bendigo Bank against cyber and financial crime, including:

• multi-factor authentication
• the removal of all links in SMS messages from the Bank
• a dedicated security team constantly monitoring for suspicious activity
• unusual account activity detection.

Mr Gordon’s advice to customers who may have fallen victim to an investment scam is to visit www.bendigobank.com.au/security immediately to report it and get support.

“Cyber fraud is a complex, growing, and ongoing challenge. Reducing instances of cyber fraud will require considerable effort and cooperation from government, regulators, industry, and consumers. We need everyone to work together to put a stop to this organised criminal activity” Mr Gordon said.