Face the Music: Businesses Risk $50M Fines For Scam Negligence!

The Albanese government is launching the most robust anti-scammer protection globally, introducing a "scams prevention framework" legislation. 

This would hold social media companies responsible for preventing scams on their platforms for the first time and impose up to $50m in fines for non-compliance. 

While the government has ignored consumer advocate's calls to follow the UK in making banks solely liable, it plans that certain sectors, including telecoms, social media, and banks, share the responsibility.  

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority recorded an unprecedented 100,000 complaints in 2023, almost double from the previous year. 10 victims who collectively lost $1.5m through scams penned an open letter to Anthony Albanese, requesting that Australia follows the UK in mandating banks to reimburse victims. 

While the government hasn't accommodated their demand, it has assured victims of clear compensation routes if the regulated entities fail to implement effective anti-scam precautions. Furthermore, internal dispute resolution mechanisms will become essential for all involved and the responsible minister could decide fault allocation rules during this resolution process.

- CyberBeat