scams

TRANSCRIPT: Banking announcement to fight scams, Australian Government’s cyber support for small business

Emily Carter — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 05:12:38 +0000

TRANSCRIPT: Banking announcement to fight scams, Australian Government’s cyber support for small business Emily Carter Wed, 11/29/2023 - 16:12

27 November 2023

TRANSCRIPT

Australian �Թ�� and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson interview with Kerry Peck.

Radio 2BS Bathurst

27 November 2023

Kerry Peck

Businesses lost $13.7 million to scams last year. Now, this is an absolutely horrific figure. A $100 million upgrade across the banking sector has just been introduced so we thought we'd catch up with the �Թ�� Ombudsman, Bruce Billson. Good morning, sir.

Bruce Billson

Great to be with you, sir, and with your listeners and congrats on 60 years of that silky, smooth, melodious tone you bring to airwaves.

Kerry Peck

Yeah, I"ve been around ... I'm doing okay. This is a very serious question at this particular stage and I know they did a fairly big exposé on it last night on television, and we've been talking about it for quite some time. We really do, in this day and age, have to be vitally aware of scams, don't we?

Bruce Billson

Well, absolutely, and particularly for small and family businesses. That’s what gets me out of bed every day. But for all of your listeners to be alert to the behaviour of these nefarious cats that try to mimic your log in details, even impersonate you, to gain access to services and support.

I mean the costs are about $46,000 per incident for a small business. So that's a big number in its own right. But part of the bigger concern is for too many small businesses that a cyber incident, a scam that they're involved with, can be a business ending event because you might lose control over your business systems that are vital for you to trade or, and this is what we're seeing, you lose the confidence of your customers. They say, I trusted you with this information so that you can deduct payments for my monthly gym membership, it might be a hairdresser, a beautician that has a routine appointment with you, and you start losing the confidence of those people if you start losing control over your data and the scammers get to mess with your information.

Kerry Peck

We all like to give the banks a bit of a bash every now and then, obviously, that's sort of part of the Australian sport, I think to a certain extent. But you know, the banks can only do so much. I mean, there's a lot of responsibility that should be on the small business itself.

Bruce Billson

It's a matter of people doing what each is able to do. I was very supportive of the banks’ announcement late last week where they said they'd use their technologies to compare the name of the bank account with the BSB and account details and if there's any irregularities then hold up the payment. That's a good measure. That's the measure that's been operating in the UK for some time and it's pleasing to see that that's happening here.

Now, why is that important? Let's say we had a builder in our community in Bathurst building a home for us. We knew we were up for a progress payment. So we're expecting an invoice for $85,000 or something like that. And a scammer got into the builder's technology and just sat there quietly, silently. But when that builder produced the invoice for us, it looked all legit. We were expecting it. It was for the right amount. But one of the scams that we've seen a lot of harm caused by, is this invoice substitution scam where they quietly go in and actually change the banking details on that invoice. So it looks very legit, but it's actually sending that money offshore, usually gets turned into crypto currency and is untraceable very quickly.

Now what the banks have said late last week is a couple of things will happen. One, where there's this irregularity between the account name and the banking account details, they'll stop the payment. Where there's a large payment that might not be your normal pattern of expenditure, they might query it with you or even slow it down. And in some cases they'll work together to delay the transfer of some money between banks so that if it is a scam, there's some chance of cutting it off. So that's what the banks are doing and that's great.

The telcos are doing good stuff to the extent that they can as well. It's called clean pipes and they cut off a lot of nefarious sort of traffic over the Internet and the like, just as part of their service. So that's good.

But for the individual and the individual business owner, there are things within their gifts that they should do. They should take steps to protect their data. They should only hold the information that they need. They should use that multi-factor identification to verify what's going on and also keep their software up to date, because often those software updates have patches or changes to them to guard against the cyber criminals.

I suppose I put it this way, we wouldn't leave our shop open in the main street of Bathurst with the door wide open and the lights on in the middle of the night and expect everything to be okay. It’s the same sort of logic that there are things that can be done in the digital world like that, and that's what I'm urging small and family businesses to do while those other parties do the things they do.

Kerry Peck

And the other thing, of course, is these guys have no conscience whatsoever.

Bruce Billson

It's actually quite a sophisticated business model. We've heard stories about these being structured like a corporation. They even have an HR Department. They have got people that are specialists in understanding human psychology - what sort of prompt or what sort of dodgy text message will most likely produce the action that they want. They know what time of year it is, so they'll send out little reminders through SMS masquerading as the Tax Office, and it's not them.

And that’s why it's also important in an announcement last week that the government made for their cyber security strategy that for small businesses you can jump on the Australian Cyber Security Center and get a bit of a health check just on where you're at with your cyber protection and then some steps to improve it. So jump on www.cyber.gov.au and you'll get onto those resources.

And then secondly, in the event that you are compromised, it's not up yet but it will be soon I hope, a new service the Government's announced that will see a skilled person get alongside the small business to help them navigate the circumstances they're confronted with because they've been compromised.

They’re two good initiatives sitting alongside the stuff the banks announced and hopefully an increase in awareness amongst people about what individuals and actual small businesses can do to help better protect themselves.

Kerry Peck

Thank you for your time this morning, sir. I really do appreciate it. There we go. Ombudsman for �Թ��, Bruce Billson.

DON’T BE DUPED BY SCAM OPERATORS

Emily Carter — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 05:24:29 +0000

DON’T BE DUPED BY SCAM OPERATORS Emily Carter Mon, 11/27/2023 - 16:24

27 November 2023

Small business owners are being urged by the Australian �Թ�� and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, to be on high alert to the rising number of criminals who may try to impersonate their business or a government agency such as the Australian Taxation Office.

Mr Billson said Scam Awareness Week was an ideal time for small business owners to take a few extra moments to check they have appropriate safeguards in place to avoid falling victim.

“Some recent cases have left small business owners with tax debts after they gave their myGov details to scammers who they thought were friends or people helping them,” he said.

“I urge small and family businesses not to give anyone access to important information such as your myGov password and login, and always check agreements you sign up to and make sure you get what is promised in return.

“Scams come in all shapes and sizes. Some are from very sophisticated hackers but others are credit card scams or fraudsters who claim to be trying to help you with your small business as they rip you off.

“Scamwatch says 3 in every 4 scam reports involve criminals pretending to be people we should trust. If an offer looks too good to be true then it probably is. Trust your Spidey-senses.

“Sadly, if a criminal impersonates your business, it not only costs you and your customers money but can damage your brand and lead to a loss of consumer trust and confidence and the ability to operate. Too often, a cyber attack can be an enterprise-ending event for a small business.”

Mr Billson said in one recent case a sole trader trusted a friend to complete their Business Activity Statement and handed over their myGov account login and details.

“The ‘friend’ lodged fake business activity statements understating the sole trader’s income and generating refunds which the ‘friend’ directed to their own bank account instead of the sole trader’s account. The sole trader now owes the ATO over $400,000,” Mr Billson said.

In another case, a small business was told the Tax Office was helping to fund small businesses through myGov and they could be supported if they handed over their myGov details which they did but the scammer made false claims and left the small business with a $45,000 tax debt.

“The lesson here is to only use registered tax agents and accountants and do not give your myGov details to anyone,” the Ombudsman said.

Mr Billson said he was also concerned about a scam involving website design or search engine optimisation.

“One small business owner who contacted us paid $25,000 before she realised that she could be the subject of a scam,” he said.

“Scammers may sign you up for a single or monthly payment which they take from your credit card but they continue to do so even after the agreement for their service has expired.

“In some cases they take the money but the website promised is never delivered. And businesses can face an enormous effort trying to exit these arrangements after realising they have been duped. My rule of thumbs is to spend 1 hour for every $1000 your are likely to spend checking out that it is legit, that the business you intended dealing with is real and to make sure it can deliver what is being promised.

“These businesses either don’t have business addresses or impersonate legitimate other businesses for cover, and if they use an ABN it often belongs to a similarly named legitimate business.”

Mr Billson said small businesses should check the credentials of these type of suppliers such as their ABN and business name and if they don’t match or something doesn’t appear right, investigate further.

Mr Billson said small business who were concerned they might be the victim of a scam should contact the new National Anti-Scam Centre’s ‘Report a Scam’ page on their website www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam Or they can contact www.asbfeo.gov.au

MEDIA CONTACT: 0448 467 178

SMALL BUSINESS OMBUDSMAN WELCOMES BANKING INDUSTRY PLEDGE TO FIGHT SCAMS

Emily Carter — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 23:13:25 +0000

SMALL BUSINESS OMBUDSMAN WELCOMES BANKING INDUSTRY PLEDGE TO FIGHT SCAMS Emily Carter Fri, 11/24/2023 - 10:13

24 November 2023

The Australian �Թ�� and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, has welcomed the significant commitment announced today by the banking industry to better support small businesses to combat scams.

Mr Billson said a $100 million upgrade across the banking sector to confirm who money is being paid to by matching names with account numbers will particularly benefit small businesses who too often fall victim to the invoice substitution scam.

“Nefarious cyber criminals can wreak havoc for a small business but sadly the number of scams and the size of the losses for small and family businesses is growing,” Mr Billson said.

“When a criminal impersonates your business, it not only costs you and your customers money but can damage your brand and lead to a loss of consumer trust and confidence and the ability to operate. Too often, it can be an enterprise-ending event for a small business.”

Scamwatch data shows small businesses lost $13.7 million to scams last year, a 95% increase compared to the previous year. The biggest contributor to these losses were payment redirection scams.

Mr Billson said small businesses had been particularly vulnerable to the invoice substitution scam – also called payment redirection scams or business email compromise - where cyber criminals get into their computer system and intercept emails to customers and insert different bank account details.

“A small business sends an invoice to somebody and the criminal changes the banking details. When it lands in the customer's inbox, it looks legit and is a bill they were expecting so they pay it. The money goes to the criminal’s bank account and is quickly shifted, usually to crypto currency, and is gone,” he said.

“These jokers run off with the money, the customer has done their dough, and the small business hasn’t been paid.”

“ASBFEO has been highlighting the urgent need for a ‘confirmation of payee’ scheme to be introduced in Australia, noting similar programs operate in other countries offering a really practical safeguard. This ensures people can confirm they are transferring money to the person intended and that names are matched to BSB and account numbers.

“Today’s pledge by the banking industry to roll out a new confirmation of payee system will go a long way to stopping scammers being able to divert invoice payments by simply and silently changing a bank account number.”

Mr Billson noted the package of measures announced by the Australian Banking Association and the Customer Owned Baking Association will apply to commercial banks, customer owned banks, mutual banks, building societies and credit unions.

It will include more use of biometric checks and other controls to prevent scammers opening fraudulent bank accounts in other people’s names by using stolen information from driver’s licences, passports and other identity documents.

There will also be increased warnings and payment delays for suspicious transactions, limits on high-risk payment channels, which can include crypto platforms, and greater intelligence sharing across the banking sector using the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange.

However, Mr Billson said beating the scammers relied upon everyone being at their best by doing what they can to tackle the scourge of cyber crime and to “listen to our Spidey senses if something doesn’t seem right”.

“Business owners wouldn’t leave the door open with the light on at night when there's no one there, so they must take the right steps and safeguards in the digital world,” he said.

“Telecommunication companies are trying to do their bit via what's called a ‘clean pipes’ initiative, where they cut off a lot of cyber threat traffic through the telecommunications infrastructure.

“And just last week the Australian Government announced two programs offering small businesses practical help to minimise the chance of falling victim to a cyber attack and to better prepare them to bounce back.

Mr Billson said next week is Scam Awareness Week and an ideal time for small business owners to take a few extra moments to check they have appropriate safeguards in place.

“Scamwatch says 3 in every 4 scam reports involve criminals pretending to be people we should trust,” Mr Billson said.

The new National Anti-Scam Centre says small business owners who fear they have fallen victim should contact the Report a Scam website www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam and dedicated resources to combat scams can be found at www.scamwatch.gov.au

The Australian Cyber Security Centre, through the cyber.gov.au website, provides resources and guides for small businesses on how to manage information and secure your business, including a free Cyber Security Assessment Tool that can help identify the cyber security strengths of a business and learn how to improve cyber security www.cyber.gov.au/resources-business-and-government/essential-cyber-security/smallbusiness

The website also contains information on how to recover and small businesses can report cyber attack incidents through 1300 CYBER1.

Our ASBFEO website includes simple steps and a checklist to better protect your small business

asbfeo.gov.au/resources-tools-centre/cyber-security and we have a video offering tips which can be viewed here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxoZ1vjbalg

MEDIA CONTACT: 0448 467 178