Westpac to disrupt scammers with in-app calling

Westpac is stepping up the fight against impersonation scams in a partnership with Optus that will enable customers to receive verified calls from the bank directly through the Westpac app. 

Westpac SafeCall will send customers an alert when a call is coming through via the app, showing the Optus verification along with the reason for the call. The feature will be available to all customers regardless of who their telco provider is. 

“This will help to provide customers with the confidence and added security to help beat scammers and know that they really are talking to their bank,” said Peter King, Westpac’s Chief Executive Officer. 

Thousands of Australians are targeted each year by scammers impersonating the country’s big banks, and King said the SafeCall technology would add an extra layer of protection as part of broader efforts to combat scams.  

“We’re continuing to invest in scam prevention and detection measures and are currently detecting 69 per cent of all scam cases,” he added.

The capability will be gradually rolled out to Westpac customers in the coming months. It will work alongside other safety features such as SaferPay, which alerts customers to potential scams by generating a series of questions for payments that are detected to have a high scam risk.

“Optus is proud to partner with Westpac to deliver this world-leading solution that will help keep customers safe from scammers and fraudsters,” said Michael Venter, Optus Interim CEO. 

Westpac has also added 94,000 Westpac numbers to a ‘Do Not Originate’ list to prevent scammers from impersonating the bank’s phone numbers.

Ben Young, Head of Fraud Prevention at Westpac, share some tips on how to spot an impersonation scam in this video: SCAM SPOT: Beware bank impersonators 

Over the past two years, Westpac has saved customers over $400 million from being lost to scammers and has invested more than $100 million in new detection and prevention measures, including initiatives delivered as part of the Scam Safe Accord which the bank signed onto in November last year.

Australians reported $73.2 million in losses to the ACCC’s Scamwatch in the three months to March 31, 2024, down 10.8 per cent on the previous quarter. Reports including a financial loss fell to 6.8 per cent in the quarter, down from 9.7 per cent across 2023, indicating that increased efforts to raise awareness about scams through the Scam Safe Accord may be having an impact.

While SafeCall will help to shut down scammers pretending to be from Westpac, it won’t stop customers from needing to stay vigilant. Customers should hang up the phone if they think they might be talking to a scammer and check in with Westpac via the number on the back their bank card or through the app.