Bank Accuses Tech Giant of Inaction Amid Rising Fraud Incidents
Westpac, one of Australia’s largest banks, has sharply criticized social media giant Meta for what it describes as a failure to address a growing epidemic of scams and fraud on its platforms. The bank has highlighted the alarming rise in fraudulent activities, particularly on Facebook, and expressed frustration over Meta’s lack of effective action.
In a strongly worded letter dated August 2, Carolyn McCann, Westpac’s Group Executive for Customer and Corporate Services, detailed the bank’s concerns to Meta. She cited 360 scam incidents reported by Westpac customers since October of the previous year, with the majority occurring on Meta’s platforms. The letter underscored Meta’s responsibility in curbing the misuse of its services for criminal purposes.
“I see every single day the increasing impact this scourge is having on customers and the community,” McCann wrote, urging Meta to take immediate and decisive steps to protect users from scams. She called for a comprehensive review of how Facebook, in particular, is being exploited to defraud ordinary Australians.
The criticism from Westpac follows a broader outcry earlier this year from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which also lambasted Meta for its inadequate response to the proliferation of scams. The ACCC labeled Meta as the most challenging company to work with in efforts to combat financial crime.
Westpac’s concerns are backed by troubling statistics. The bank reported that 320 of its customers fell victim to scams on Facebook Marketplace alone, with an additional 40 customers duped by fraudulent house and car rental advertisements on the platform. The financial losses suffered by these customers range from a few thousand dollars to, in one particularly severe case, $80,000 lost to a cryptocurrency scam advertised on Facebook.
A recent court judgment revealed that half of the cryptocurrency-related ads on Facebook, highlighted in a case brought by the ACCC, were either outright scams or violated Meta’s own policies. Many of these fraudulent ads featured fake endorsements from celebrities, a practice that the court noted had been ongoing since at least September 2017. The judgment further exposed how scammers used Facebook to solicit fake rental bonds and car deposits, costing several Westpac customers thousands of dollars.
“These numbers are only for Westpac customers,” McCann pointed out, implying that the true scale of the problem across the financial services sector is likely much larger.
Despite Westpac’s repeated efforts to engage with Meta on this issue, McCann expressed disappointment that the tech giant had been largely unresponsive. The letter marks the third occasion on which Westpac has raised its concerns with Meta regarding the use of its platforms by scammers and fraudsters. Meta’s response to Westpac’s latest communication only arrived on Friday, following two previous letters that went unanswered.
McCann, who oversees Westpac’s scam and fraud prevention efforts, emphasized the critical need for social media companies to take more responsibility in addressing the rising tide of online financial crime. “That’s where many scams find their victims,” she noted, urging Meta and other social media platforms to intensify their efforts in safeguarding users against fraud.
As scams and fraud continue to proliferate on social media, Westpac’s public confrontation with Meta underscores the growing tension between financial institutions and tech companies over the responsibility to protect consumers in the digital age.
