The National Bank of Australia has blocked millions of cryptocurrency transactions, citing fraud
Date: 2023-07-14 Categories: CRYPT
The National Australia Bank (NAB) has blocked more than A$270 million (about $184 million) in customer payments, according to a July 17 filing, raising concerns over the last four months of fraud.
NAB Blocks Payments to 'High Risk' Cryptocurrency Exchanges
NAB said it stopped an undisclosed number of transactions on cryptocurrency platforms where scams were prevalent between March and July. The bank did not name any exchange.
NAB, citing reports from the Australian Financial Crime Exchange over the past 30-day period, stated that 50% of the scams reported to the agency were related to cryptocurrencies.
Chris Sheehan, NAB's executive director of group investigations and fraud, said these scammers used cryptocurrency platforms to send these stolen funds overseas.
Last year, Australians lost AU$221 million, over $150 million, to cryptocurrency scams, making this type of scam one of the fastest growing threats in the country.
Other banks in Australia, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ and Westpac, have also taken similar steps recently. Blockchain Australia, a cryptocurrency advocacy group, has raised concerns that these restrictions could potentially stunt the growth of the cryptocurrency industry in the country.
Meanwhile, Australia is not the only country working to prevent malicious use of cryptocurrencies. Belarus is working on a law to ban cryptocurrency trading outside regulated exchanges to combat cybercrime.
NAB introduces other customer protection measures
Meanwhile, NAB said it has introduced new measures over the past six months to better protect its customers.
The bank explained that some of the measures included introducing payment prompts, blocking the use of links in suspicious text messages, and taking action against spoofing.
These measures had the desired effect, as real-time payment prompts led to about 12% of payments being abandoned. The hint appears if the transaction is out of character for user action and is intended to give the client time to validate before confirming.
Despite the slowdown in transaction rates, the bank said 12% of its customers were happy with the measures because they protect them from fraud.
NAB Blocks Payments to 'High Risk' Cryptocurrency Exchanges
NAB said it stopped an undisclosed number of transactions on cryptocurrency platforms where scams were prevalent between March and July. The bank did not name any exchange.
NAB, citing reports from the Australian Financial Crime Exchange over the past 30-day period, stated that 50% of the scams reported to the agency were related to cryptocurrencies.
Chris Sheehan, NAB's executive director of group investigations and fraud, said these scammers used cryptocurrency platforms to send these stolen funds overseas.
Last year, Australians lost AU$221 million, over $150 million, to cryptocurrency scams, making this type of scam one of the fastest growing threats in the country.
Other banks in Australia, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ and Westpac, have also taken similar steps recently. Blockchain Australia, a cryptocurrency advocacy group, has raised concerns that these restrictions could potentially stunt the growth of the cryptocurrency industry in the country.
Meanwhile, Australia is not the only country working to prevent malicious use of cryptocurrencies. Belarus is working on a law to ban cryptocurrency trading outside regulated exchanges to combat cybercrime.
NAB introduces other customer protection measures
Meanwhile, NAB said it has introduced new measures over the past six months to better protect its customers.
The bank explained that some of the measures included introducing payment prompts, blocking the use of links in suspicious text messages, and taking action against spoofing.
These measures had the desired effect, as real-time payment prompts led to about 12% of payments being abandoned. The hint appears if the transaction is out of character for user action and is intended to give the client time to validate before confirming.
Despite the slowdown in transaction rates, the bank said 12% of its customers were happy with the measures because they protect them from fraud.
