3 weeks ago
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Aussies scammed retired of millions of dollars person called for an overhaul connected however large banks grip compensation and reimbursement, informing much are astatine hazard of losing wealth if Labor’s scam prevention laws aren’t fast-tracked.
ACT autarkic Senator David Pocock joined 14 scam victims extracurricular the Senate arsenic helium called connected the Federal Government to fortify their projected scam prevention laws.
The draught authorities is an economy‑wide betterment to support the Australian assemblage from scams – covering banks, telcos and integer platforms and promising harsh penalties for failing to halt scammers getting done to their customers.
One Canberra woman, Harriet, spoke of her heartbreak aft learning the $1.6 cardinal proceeds of her aged mother’s location were stolen aft she was duped into depositing the wealth into what appeared to beryllium an ING word deposit account.
Harriet told her transferring slope that this ING relationship – who were really cyber criminals – had told her they utilized Westpac for “holding” accounts.
She explained her mother’s slope went up and transferred the wealth to the scam relationship successful Westpac, contempt her mother’s slope aboriginal admitting they knew ING did not slope with different banks.
Harriet said the slope had denied liability and offered nary compensation, contempt her parent banking with them for fractional a century.
David Sweeney, from Melbourne, said it took implicit 5 years to get his father’s wealth backmost aft helium was defrauded of conscionable implicit $1 cardinal from an elaborate fiscal concern scam.
“For 5 years the banks lone wanted to speech astir the information that my begetter authorised the payments,” helium said.
“The accusation being that my begetter was responsible. The banks had done each they could, they said.”
]Another woman, Cindy Reddy, said her parents mislaid $1.1 cardinal to a scam pretending to beryllium a short-term deposit concern connected behalf of an planetary concern firm.
It represented the entirety of her parents’ status money and idiosyncratic beingness savings – and nary funds person been recovered.
Senator Pocock the Federal Government had projected to “prevent and punish” scammers with fines, but not to protect.
He said a exemplary akin to the UK, wherever the banks were “on the hook”, would effect successful banks spending much clip and vigor successful ensuring scams ne'er happened successful the archetypal place.
“The large 4 (banks) made astir $32 cardinal nett past twelvemonth alone,” Senator Pocock said.
“They bash immoderate they tin to guarantee they don’t person to walk wealth connected these sorts of things.
“They should – they person a relation to play, not conscionable successful preventing scams … successful really reimbursing people.”
Labor’s draught authorities is unfastened for submissions until October 4.
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