National Australia Bank (NAB), one of Australia’s four largest financial institutions, has blocked some payments to “high-risk” crypto exchanges to stop scammers.
Australians Lost $151M to Crypto Scams Last Year
In an official statement on Monday, the bank labeled crypto scams as one of the fastest-growing security threats that cost Australians more than A$221 million ($151 million) last year.
“These scammers are part of organised, transnational crime groups. Increasingly, we’re seeing them use cryptocurrency platforms to send stolen funds quickly and often overseas,” Chris Sheehan, an executive for group investigations and fraud at NAB, said.
According to NAB, nearly 50% of scam funds reported to the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange were linked to cryptocurrency in a recent 30-day period.
NAB also stated that it has intervened in more than A$270 million ($183.9 million) worth of customer payments that have raised scam concerns between March and July. The bank, however, did not mention how many were crypto-related.
In addition to blocking some payments to high-risk crypto exchanges, the bank has also implemented several other measures to protect customers from scams.
“Introducing payment prompts, taking action on spoofing and stopping the use of links in unexpected text messages are among key measures we’ve introduced recently,” Mr Sheehan said.
Binance Australia Could Be Facing More Pressure
The latest measure is likely to put more pressure on Binance Australia, the Australian arm of the leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance. According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), the Binance Australian arm could be a part of the “high-risk” exchanges NAB is blocking.
The exchange is already facing heightened pressure in the country. In May, Binance Australia said users could no longer withdraw AUD to their bank accounts using the PayID service. This was after the exchange lost access to some AUD deposit services due to a decision by its local banking partner Cuscal to halt its service.
Several other Australian banks, including Westpac, and the Commonwealth Bank, have reportedly blocked payments to Binance Australia.
