Banks are being pressured by the regulators (the Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission) and the Australian Securities and Investments
Commission) to compensate consumers who are victims of online scams. However, banks
are pushing back, arguing that it would make victims too complacent knowing that
if they make a mistake and were caught by a scammer, the banks would pick up
the bill.
I think the banks make a slightly fair point.
In an exclusive story, The SMH says we’re talking about potentially billions of dollars in refunds. But the ACCC and ASIC think the banks should be involved in preventing scams and fraudulent behaviour and should also be a part of the reimbursement process.
Believe it or not, Aussies lose about $2bn a year because of scams. But as the SMH’s Charlotte Grieve explained: “The Australian Banking Association (ABA) has consistently stressed the need for greater personal responsibility in preventing scam losses, which has led some groups to accuse it of ‘victim blaming’”.
Of course,
sometimes victims have been silly and one has to ask whether banks should be
responsible for all the mistakes that consumers make often pursuing big returns
and ignoring the risks.
As the old proverb goes: “A fool and his money
are soon parted.” But
sometimes the scammers are so smart they can even trick a smarter person who
simply was a victim of a very smart scam.
I was
recently asked to help someone who’d been attracted to a…
