Dec 11 (Reuters) – Westpac Banking Corp called for stronger action from social media companies such as Meta on Thursday to curb online scams, saying that banks cannot tackle the growing threat to consumers on their own.
Chief Executive Anthony Miller told shareholders at the lender’s annual general meeting that Westpac had spent more than A$500 million ($333.55 million) over the past five years on scam and fraud prevention, including new detection tools and customer-protection systems.
“But what’s clear to me is that Westpac, and the other banks, can’t solve the scams scourge alone,” Miller said. “To help keep Australians safe, we need more action from other players in the ecosystem, including social media companies like Meta.”
Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Miller said recent initiatives from the lender had helped drive a 21% drop in scam losses this year and prevented customers from losing more than A$360 million.
Australian banks have been pushing for tighter responsibilities for digital platforms, arguing that a large share of scam activity originates on social media and messaging apps.
Meta last year said it has taken down some 8,000 so-called “celeb bait” scam ads from Facebook and Instagram as part of an effort with Australian banks to curb the practice.
The scams used images of famous people, often generated by artificial intelligence, to trick consumers into giving money to non-existent investment schemes.
($1 = 1.4990 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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