National Anti-Scam Centre launches

The Albanese government has officially opened the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC), which brings together expertise and resources across government agencies, law enforcement, and the private sector to act as “the first line of defence in the fight against scammers”.

The new body, which officially opened this week, aims to intercept scammers before they reach intended victims, remove investment scam websites from the internet, raise consumer awareness about the nature of scams and how to avoid them, and help victims access services where they’ve lost money or had their identity compromised.

On Monday (3 July), the government announced the launch of the “first-ever fusion cell to target scammers”, which brings together specialists from across government, law enforcement, and the private sector to utilise their expertise and intelligence to disrupt a specific scam.

Led by ACCC and ASIC and including specialists from the banks, telecommunications industry, and digital platforms, the fusion cell will initially operate for six months, with the NASC publicly reporting outcomes.

It will firstly target investment scams, which currently account for over 50 per cent of all scam losses — costing Australians over $1 billion a year, according to Treasury.

Indeed, Australia currently blocks around 9 million text messages scams every six months.

Speaking of the launch, the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones MP, said the fusion cell will be “nimble and formed to address urgent, high-profile, or damaging scams”.

In a press conference on Monday (3 July), Mr Jones commented: “The Albanese government wants to help Australians and small businesses take up the fight to the scammers.

“Today we’re very excited about the fact that we are launching our National Anti‑Scam Centre. It’s a first for Australia and it will be about the government taking the fight up to scammers to ensure that Australians aren’t left on their own.”

He urged consumers to report scams to Scamwatch to help identify scams in real time.

“Information‑sharing in real time is critical, because if somebody — if there’s a gang out there targeting one victim, they’ll also be going for hundreds of others as well. So sharing — reporting and sharing that information in real time [is] absolutely critical,” he said.

The Assistant Treasurer also revealed that the government will be working to put in place “tough new codes of practice” on banks and other finance institutions to “ensure that they are doing their bit to help Australians — households and small businesses — take the fight up to scammers”.

There will also be higher standards brought in for telecommunications companies and social media platforms over the coming months, Mr Jones said.

“For too long the scammers have had it their way. Well, from today that changes. We’re taking the fight up to them, Mr Jones said.

[Related: Surge in scams shakes trust in Australians: Assistant Treasurer]