In a recent publication, Australia’s Department of the Treasury revealed plans to levy new codes and business standards to address financial crime. The regulatory agencies formulated a consultation paper detailing the new approach for mitigating consumer and business scams.
The report mirrors a recent publication from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that proposed various approaches for addressing scams. In the report, the ACCC proposed strengthening the Scams Awareness Week initiative by educating the public on potential scams, fraudulent schemes and unethical business practices.
Australia Authority Seeks to Address Crypto Scams
Despite the efforts to address scams, the regulators noted that the bad players were becoming smarter and more creative. The rise of financial scams obliged the regulators to devise effective strategies.
Firstly, the regulators plan to group key industries into codes to differentiate the type of scam. A statement from Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones revealed that the Australian authority would mandate the government agencies’ new responsibilities to help mitigate fraud.
The official confirmed that the new regulatory action aims to protect industries prone to scams from suffering from severe financial losses. The regulators confirmed that further measures will be implemented to prevent and address business and crypto scams.
The official plans to leverage emerging technologies to share intelligence information across government agencies.
Rise of Crypto Scam
According to the report, the regulators mandated the banks, telecommunication companies, and digital communication platforms to assume the new responsibilities of assigning codes and standards.
The report illustrated that the codes and standards will be issued to industries that scammers always target. Additionally, with the changes in the financial sector, the official envisages that some of the fast-paced industries will introduce non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other crypto assets.
Citing a recent report from the Treasury, the regulators regretted approximately $3.1 billion was lost in crypto scams last year. The information illustrated that the scammers targeted Australian consumers and thriving businesses.
The Treasury request coincides with anti-scam initiatives by the Australian government. The regulators anticipate that with the new standards, the private sector will take preventive measures to address crypto scams.
Besides the private industry, other government agencies, including the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC), Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) have stepped up to address financial fraud.
