- NAB’s scam experts share their top tips to spot the red flags of scam trends predicted to impact Australians in 2024
- NAB customers reported an average of 1,500 scams cases every month in 2023
- About 70% of scams involve some form of impersonation
NAB has today revealed AI voice scams and QR code phishing are among the emerging scams to watch out for in 2024, according to the bank’s fraud and cybersecurity experts.
The top six scams to watch out for are:
- AI voice impersonation scams
- Term deposit investment scams
- Remote access scams using chat
- Romance scams
- Ticket scams
- QR code phishing scams
Read NAB’s explainer on the 2024’s emerging scams here.
Scamscape evolution
NAB Manager Advisory Awareness Laura Hartley said the ‘scamscape’ was constantly changing and the use of AI was expected to take scams to another level in 2024.
“When many of us are relaxing enjoying the new year, scammers are busy working on new scams,” Ms Hartley said.
“Criminals are targeting Aussies enjoying their break by using sophisticated technology to manipulate victims when and where they least suspect it.
“We have identified these six scams based on what we’re seeing overseas and key issues and challenges in society. These are scams every Australian needs to know about so they can recognise the red flags and protect themselves.”
Be alert to the red flags
Ms Hartley said urgency was a common theme among all six scams.
“Scammers create a sense of urgency to encourage you to act quickly. It could be a phone call from your ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ in distress and needing money, a fantastic term deposit rate that’s only available for a limited time or cheap concert tickets going quickly,” she said.
“AI voice scams are one of the six we are closely watching in 2024. They can be created with as little as three seconds of audio taken from a social media post, voicemail or video on a website.
“We know they are happening in the UK and US, in particular, and anticipate it’s just a matter of time before these scams head down under.
“We will always do what we can but it’s often very hard to recover money once it’s in a criminal’s account. That’s why we need to stop the crime before it happens.”
Taking action to reduce the impact of the scam epidemic
The warning comes as NAB continues its fight against scammers as part of a bank-wide strategy.
These include removing links from customer text messages and introducing payment alerts to digital banking, resulting in customers abandoning more than $50 million worth of payments in the past eight months, as well as creating new ways customers can report fraud through digital channels.
Ms Hartley said NAB customers reported an average of 1,500 scams cases every month, which could have devastating financial and emotional impacts.
“Our fraud team receives an average of almost 80,000 calls each month. That’s up from an average of 63,800 calls a month a year ago,” she said.
“Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve been scammed.”
Spotting AI scams – The Today Show
NAB Chief Digital Officer Suj Rana shares top tips for spotting scams that use AI in 2024.
Notes to editors
- NAB has a bank-wide strategy to help address the global scam epidemic. Recent actions include:
- Stopping the use of links in unexpected text messages
- Blocking some payments to high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges
- Collaborating with telcos to prevent spoofing scams
- Adding 50 people to the Scams and Fraud team since October 2022 so customers can speak to someone faster
- Using BioCatch biometrics technology in the NAB app and Internet Banking to help identify fraudulent activity
- Ongoing customer and community education via its Security Hub website, direct alerts (eg in the NAB app), emails, social media content and free monthly webinars
