Scams are real, and they’re everywhere#
Who hasn’t heard of scams? Many of us have. For most of the lucky ones, it’s just news we’ve heard. It’s not close or personal. But they are very real - In Australia in 2024, people lost $2.7 billion of their hard-earned money to scams.
What exactly is a scam?#
Legally, scams and fraud are different terms. While fraud is broader, scams typically involve two scenarios:
- Scammers get personal information from someone (to take over accounts)
- Scammers convince someone to transfer money directly to them
The 5-second summary of the new rules#
The government just passed new rules to fight back. It’s called the Scam Prevention Framework. Basically, banks, telcos, and big tech companies now have to:
- Stop scams before they happen (PREVENT)
- Spot suspicious stuff faster (DETECT)
- Shut scams down quickly (DISRUPT)
- Help victims recover (RESPOND)
- Share what they learn (REPORT)
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? In a future post, I’ll explain why it’s not.
What this means for telcos#
This means telcos need to increase their vigilance. It’s not that they’ve been sitting on the sidelines letting scams happen. Telcos split their defence strategy into two parts:
- Know Your Customer (KYC)
- Know Your Traffic (KYT)
Know Your Customer (KYC)#
Telcos already deploy controls to prevent scammers from signing up as customers or taking over accounts. With SPF (Scam Prevention Framework), the scope of KYC expands.
Know Your Traffic (KYT)#
Telcos monitor some traffic (voice, SMS, MMS) within legal privacy boundaries. With SPF, the scope of KYT expands too.
What’s new is that SPF expects telcos to combine KYC and KYT. They need to profile customers and their traffic patterns. This is where AI comes in - helping connect customer profiles with traffic patterns to create risk profiles.
Community bands together#
Your bank’s got your back#
Like telcos, banks have additional responsibilities:
- Slow down payments that look fishy
- Double-check when money’s going somewhere new
- Warn you before you send cash to a “new friend” you just met online
Social media can’t look away#
Those fake investment ads on social media now have to:
- Actually check if ads are legit
- Take down scammy posts faster
- Make reporting scams easier
The “connected boxes” part#
Here’s the cool bit: we’re connecting the right boxes.
Before: Scam happens → You lose money → You report it → Nothing changes.
Now: Scam attempt → Bank spots it → Telco blocks the number → Social media takes down the account → Everyone learns and gets better.
The boxes are getting connected.
The bottom line#
Scams will not disappear overnight, and scammers will always be one step ahead. But these new rules mean:
- Companies have to try harder to protect us.
- The friction for scammers increases.
- You’ve got more backup when things go wrong.
Will this stop all scams? No. But it’s progress worth celebrating.