BOQ GROUP BACKS RELEASE OF NEW SCAM-SAFE ACCORD
24 November 2023, Brisbane:
Bank of Queensland Group (BOQ Group) is welcoming the Australian Banking Association’s (ABA) collaborative approach to fighting financial crime with the release of its Scam-Safe Accord today.
The Scam-Safe Accord reflects the banking sector’s commitment to safeguarding every Australian banking customer, and will include several anti-scam measures, including a new payee confirmation system aimed at improving transparency for customers making transfers.
BOQ’s General Manager of Financial Crime, Benjamin Hargreaves stressed the importance of collaboration as part of ongoing efforts to tackle the scam epidemic.
“Financial crime is an issue we all must work on together to stamp out. As an ABA member, The Group played a role in the development of the Accord and will continue to collaborate with the ABA, government and industry,” he said.
"We also support the banking industry's investment into the new payee confirmation system, which will ultimately provide our customers additional confidence when making direct payments online.
“We look forward to delivering all actions outlined in the Scam-Safe Accord, alongside other BOQ operational measures to continue to enhance the detection of our response to scam activity and keep our customers safe.”
BOQ is also rolling out a new series of face-to-face education across 147 branches to help communities safely navigate scams and fraud. Local community, social and sporting community groups are encouraged to contact their local BOQ branch to arrange a session for their members.
To remain vigilant against scammers, BOQ recommends the following advice from Scamwatch:
STOP – Don’t give money or personal information to anyone if unsure.
THINK – Ask yourself could the message or call be fake?
PROTECT – Act quickly if something feels wrong.
For more information on how BOQ protects customers or what to do if you think your account is at risk, search boq.com.au/fraud-and-scams through your web browser.
