New fraud intelligence technology helps NZ banks fight scams

The new technology enables banks within a secure network to share fraud intelligence and use powerful tools to get ahead of scammers.

Launched in September, the capability is already helping banks move faster to freeze accounts and recover funds confirmed to be involved in fraud. Early indications show positive results for both the amount of actionable intelligence shared and the amount of money recovered.

“Although it’s still early days, we’ve already seen thousands of cases of intelligence sharing - helping banks to take faster action and resulting in the recovery and prevented loss of millions of dollars,” says Duncan Roberston, CEO of anti-scam delivery centre, GetVerified.

How the new measures help to protect you:

• Banks can freeze accounts confirmed to be controlled by scammers, increasing the chance of recovering money for the victim.
• Customers can more often be alerted to high-risk account transfers before any money is sent.
• Banks follow industry-wide standards for faster response and reporting times alerting the banks within the scheme faster to fraudulent activity.
• Banks can use the reporting to help analyse scam trends allowing a more proactive approach to prevention and public education.

“Scammers often use a network of accounts, sometimes spread across multiple banks, to quickly move stolen money before sending it offshore where it’s almost impossible to recover,” said Duncan Robertson. “The new capability allows banks to securely and swiftly share confirmed fraud intelligence, giving them a greater chance to track the flow of funds and recover the money before it’s sent overseas or converted into cryptocurrency.”

Led by GetVerified, New Zealand banks implemented the new technology with support from the Financial Crimes Exchange (FCX), which operates anti-scam solutions and initiatives in Australia.

David Pegley CEO of FCX, said the collaboration marks an important milestone.

“Expanding our service offerings into New Zealand is a critical step in our commitment to combating scams and financial crime. Through our partnership with GetVerified and the delivery of our advanced tools, we’re empowering banks and New Zealanders to combat scams more effectively.” said David Pegley

Looking ahead, the ecosystem may expand to other non-bank organisations – working together to help protect even more New Zealanders.