Redefining scam prevention through trusted partnerships

As cybercriminals become more sophisticated, the need for proactive scam and fraud prevention has never been more urgent.  

“We’re seeing a measurable uplift in our ability to detect scams – particularly those that are more nuanced and harder to catch through traditional methods.”

Last year, we highlighted the importance of proactive action and collaboration in the fight against cybercriminals. Our partnership with BioCatch Trust – the world’s first inter-bank financial crime intelligence-sharing network - wasn’t just about technology, it was about co-designing smarter, more human-centric ways to protect Australians from scams. 

Nearly a year into our BioCatch Trust partnership, we’re seeing the real-world impact of that collaboration. The integration of BioCatch Trust indicators into our Falcon fraud detection platform has significantly enhanced our ability to detect complex scam typologies—while reducing friction for legitimate customers.  

BioCatch Trust in action: smarter detection, less friction 

The scam landscape in Australia is evolving rapidly, with fraudsters leveraging everything from AI-generated deepfakes to fake cryptocurrency trading platforms and personalised social engineering tactics.  

Since incorporating BioCatch Trust data, we’re now able to detect fraud and scams with more precision. Using the Trust consortium model risk scores, we can detect more complex scams in real-time. By leveraging our behavioural biometrics capability, and the real-time risk score of a receiving bank on the Trust network, we can identify subtle signs of social engineering or coercion and intervene - often before a transaction is even completed. 

As a result, we're seeing a measurable uplift in our ability to detect scams — particularly those that are more nuanced and harder to catch through traditional methods. These are some of the most emotionally and financially devastating scams affecting Australians today. 

Trust Impact Analysis 

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The most notable surge in scam activity has been in Impersonation scams, which rose by 3.1% in Australia during 2024–25¹. Investment scams continue to be the most financially damaging, with Australians losing an estimated AU$59 million in 2025 alone². Business Email Compromise remains a serious threat, with 40% of scam emails now AI-generated, reflecting the growing sophistication of these schemes³. 

Romance scams have escalated dramatically, with the average financial loss per victim now AU$15,000, making these scams both emotionally and financially devastating¹. Encouragingly, our enhanced Trust signals are now detecting these scams more effectively than they were just three months ago. 

Top scam types with high trust score

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Reducing impact on legitimate customers 

What makes this advancement particularly powerful is that it doesn’t come at the cost of customer convenience. In fact, the integration of BioCatch Trust has allowed us to reduce false positives, meaning fewer legitimate transactions are interrupted or delayed. This balance—between security and accessibility —is at the heart of our approach to scam prevention.  

A safer future for our customers 

In 2024 alone, Australians reported over $2.03 billion in losses to scams, with impersonation, investment, and online shopping scams among the most financially and emotionally devastating.⁴

Scams trends are extremely dynamic. ANZ is always looking for new ways to improve our scams prevention, detection and disruption capabilities.  

Our Scam Safe controls bring together enhanced measures that reduce a customer’s risk of becoming victim to a scam, like Screen Share Protect (stops screen sharing while using the app), and Location-Based Security, which uses geolocation to flag unusual activity. These features work together to create a safer digital banking environment—without compromising ease of use. 

Trust is more than just a technical upgrade. It’s a reflection of our commitment to protecting our customers and the broader community in a digital-first world. As scams become more sophisticated, so too must our defences. By investing in intelligent, adaptive technologies like BioCatch Trust, we’re not just reacting to fraud—we’re anticipating it and partnering with others who can join the fight against cybercriminals. 

Looking ahead, we see this as a foundational step in a broader strategy to redefine scam prevention in Australia. Our goal is simple: to make banking safer and smarter—so our customers can bank with confidence, knowing we’re always working behind the scenes to protect them. 

Shaq Johnson is Head of Customer Protection, ANZ

Citations 

1: Scam statistics | Scamwatch

2: National Anti-Scam Centre calls for stronger business role to disrupt scams

3: Impersonation scams | Scamwatch

4: NASC Targeting Scams Report - March 2025