CommBank and Telstra have expanded their Scam Indicator technology to include landlines, targeting protection for elderly Australians who are particularly vulnerable to phone scams.
Initially launched in October to cover mobile calls, this new update extends protection to older customers, a demographic heavily reliant on landlines.
“Landlines are still an essential service for many Australians, but they can also be a target for opportunistic scammers,” said Sandy Cameron (pictured above left), Quantium Telstra CEO. “Expanding Scam Indicator to cover landlines means we’re able to help safeguard those in our community that are most vulnerable.”
Data from Telstra showed that more than 85% of landline users are aged 60 or older, while the National Anti-Scam Centre reported that people over 65 lost the most money to scams in 2023. In addition, they were the only age group to not see a decline in scam-related losses.
James Roberts (pictured above right), CommBank’s general manager of group fraud, highlighted the bold tactics used by scammers.
“Scammers are often bold enough to pick up the phone and talk directly with unsuspecting victims,” Roberts said. “They create a sense of urgency and use impersonation tactics to trick their target into downloading software that gives them remote access to their victim’s computer.”
The Scam Indicator technology can detect suspicious calls and alert CommBank’s fraud team, which can then block transactions and warn customers in real-time through the CommBank app or NetBank.
“As an example, our teams recently used this technology to help stop an elderly customer from being scammed,” Roberts said. “Scam Indicator technology allowed us to monitor the customer’s banking activity and decline around $70,000 in attempted scam transactions.”
This expanded coverage represents a 25% increase in protection and underscores the importance of collaboration between institutions to combat the growing threat of scams.
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