Summarised by Centrist
The Banking Ombudsman has flagged the issue of financial scams as a growing concern. Cases involving phishing, online purchases, and investment scams have led to record-breaking losses.
Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden remarked on the increasing sophistication of scams and their number. Scams make up more than a quarter of all cases over the past year and are up 80% from the year prior.
“More scam-related complaints escalated to disputes this year,” she said.
The average loss from financial scams has risen to $80,000.
Miriam Dean, Chair of the Banking Ombudsman Scheme, argues the need for urgent reforms and is calling for mandatory codes of practice for banks and digital platforms to better protect consumers.
In Dean’s opinion, comprehensive protection is long overdue, as scam cases climbed to 827 out of 3,704 complaints this year.
The Ombudsman Scheme has increased compensation limits to $500,000. In the last financial year, the Scheme paid out nearly $1m in compensation to bank customers, up nearly 30% from the previous year.
