NAB has today started introducing more proactive prompts to digital banking to help customers identify potential scams and to make sure money is going to the right recipient when they're making a payment.
The initiative will present customers with real-time, personalised messages based on the type of transaction they're making in the NAB App and NAB Internet Banking.
NAB Executive Group Investigations & Fraud Chris Sheehan said the initiative was one of 64 projects underway across the bank to help address the rise in scams targeting Australians.
"Addressing the rise in scams and fraud targeting our customers is a top priority for NAB and we are investing millions of dollars each year to help us do this," Mr Sheehan, a former Australian Federal Police senior executive, said.
"We have more than three million customers using the NAB app and NAB Internet Banking every month.
"Scams often happen when people are rushing, tired or distracted. The prompts feature a check list based on uncharacteristic activity designed to get the customer to pause and review the payment.
"While we're focused on making banking simple and digital for them, we need to stop the crime before it happens.
"A customer may receive one of these prompts as part of the payment process if a payment appears out of character for them or triggers other risk alerts. For example, making an investment in cryptocurrency for the first time."
Mr Sheehan said a "Team Australia" approach across business sectors, governments and the community was urgently needed to reduce the impact of scams.
"Educating yourself so you can see through scams is critical as no one wants their hard-earned money to end up in the hands of criminals," he said.
NAB runs free monthly customer security webinars and posts the latest scam alerts and red flags on its Security Hub website, while customer education material is is shared in a variety of ways from TikTok and Instagram content to in-app messaging and email.
Mr Sheehan encouraged anyone who thought they had been scammed to contact their bank immediately.
"We are here to help," he said.
"We will always make every attempt to prevent scams and recover funds where possible. However, once the funds have left a victim's account, it can often be difficult to recover them due to the sophistication and speed of these criminals."
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