The Northern Rivers Times
January 25, 2024!!!
22 BUSINESS NEWS
SMALL BUSINESS OMBUDSMAN WELCOMES BANKING INDUSTRY PLEDGE TO FIGHT SCAMS Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, has welcomed the significant commitment announced today by the banking industry to better support small businesses to combat scams. Mr Billson said a $100 million upgrade across the banking sector to confirm who money is being paid to by matching names with account numbers will particularly benefit small businesses who too often fall victim to the invoice substitution scam. “Nefarious cyber criminals can wreak havoc for a small business but sadly the number of scams and the size of the losses for small and family businesses is growing,” Mr Billson said. “When a criminal impersonates your business, it not only costs you and your customers money but can damage your brand and lead to
a loss of consumer trust and confidence and the ability to operate. Too often, it can be an enterprise-ending event for a small business.” Scamwatch data shows small businesses lost $13.7 million to scams last year, a 95% increase compared to the previous year. The biggest contributor to these losses were payment redirection scams. Mr Billson said small businesses had been particularly vulnerable to the invoice substitution scam – also called payment redirection scams or business email compromise - where cyber criminals get into their computer system and intercept emails to customers and insert different bank account details. “A small business sends an invoice to somebody and the criminal changes the banking details. When it lands in the customer’s inbox, it looks legit and is a bill they were expecting so they pay it. The money goes to the criminal’s bank account and is quickly shifted, usually to crypto currency, and is
gone,” he said. “These jokers run off with the money, the customer has done their dough, and the small business hasn’t been paid.” “ASBFEO has been highlighting the urgent need for a ‘confirmation of payee’ scheme to be introduced in Australia, noting similar programs operate in other countries offering a really practical safeguard. This ensures people can confirm they are transferring money to the person intended and that names are matched to BSB and account numbers. “Today’s pledge by the banking industry to roll out a new confirmation of payee system will go a long way to stopping scammers being able to divert invoice payments by simply and silently changing a bank account number.” Mr Billson noted the package of measures announced by the Australian Banking Association and the Customer Owned Baking Association will apply to commercial banks, customer owned banks, mutual banks, building
societies and credit unions. It will include more use of biometric checks and other controls to prevent scammers opening fraudulent bank accounts in other people’s names by using stolen information from driver’s licences, passports and other identity documents. There will also be increased warnings and payment delays for suspicious transactions, limits on high-risk payment channels, which can include crypto platforms, and greater intelligence sharing across the banking sector using the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange. However, Mr Billson said beating the scammers relied upon everyone being at their best by doing what they can to tackle the scourge of cyber crime and to “listen to our Spidey senses if something doesn’t seem right”. “Business owners wouldn’t leave the door open with the light on at night when there’s no one there, so they must take the right steps and
safeguards in the digital world,” he said. “Telecommunication companies are trying to do their bit via what’s called a ‘clean pipes’ initiative, where they cut off a lot of cyber threat traffic through the telecommunications infrastructure. “And just last week the Australian Government announced two programs offering small businesses practical help to minimise the chance of falling victim to a cyber attack and to better prepare them to bounce back. Mr Billson said next week is Scam Awareness Week and an ideal time for small business owners to take a few extra moments to check they have appropriate safeguards in place. “Scamwatch says 3 in every 4 scam reports involve criminals pretending to be people we should trust,” Mr Billson said. The new National Anti-Scam Centre says small business owners who fear they have fallen victim should contact the Report a Scam website www.scamwatch.gov.
au/report-a-scam and dedicated resources to combat scams can be found at www. scamwatch.gov.au The Australian Cyber Security Centre, through the cyber.gov. au website, provides resources and guides for small businesses on how to manage information and secure your business, including a free Cyber Security Assessment Tool that can help identify the cyber security strengths of a business and learn how to improve cyber security www.cyber.gov. au/resources-businessand-government/ essential-cyber-security/ smallbusiness The website also contains information on how to recover and small businesses can report cyber attack incidents through 1300 CYBER1. Our ASBFEO website includes simple steps and a checklist to better protect your small business asbfeo.gov.au/ resources-tools-centre/ cyber-security and we have a video offering tips which can be viewed here: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=lxoZ1vjbalg
Be wary of dangers when taking children to worksites SafeWork NSW SafeWork NSW is sending a strong reminder regarding the dangers of taking children to construction sites, after a teenage boy was seriously injured while attending a worksite in December. On 22 December, a 13-year-old boy attended a construction site with an adult. The boy subsequently fell from scaffolding and sustained a serious head injury which required surgery. While many parents across the state are back at work in the new year and may have to take their children to work with them, they must ensure children are only taken to suitable workplaces and their movements are always monitored. People in high-risk workplaces like
construction need to be trained and competent, and if SafeWork inspectors find untrained, unlicenced and incompetent people on
site, which can include children, this could result in the issue of fines or other notices. If parents are planning for their child to take part
in work on a construction site, they are reminded to ensure their child has a white card, is properly supervised and has been provided with adequate
training. The minimum age to apply for a white card is 14. Quotes to be attributed to Head of SafeWork NSW Trent Curtin:
“For a child, workplaces are exciting places, but they can also be extremely dangerous. We are reminding businesses and parents they have obligations to supervise children especially around machinery, hazardous chemicals and other risks on site which may not be obvious. “There needs to be protections in place to look after not just kids on school holidays, but all visitors to the workplace, each and every day of the year. “Simple safety prevention, like locking away chemicals and tools, putting in place falls protection, or removing the keys from machinery and vehicles when they are not in use are just a few ways to create a safer place for everyone.”
