I am furious that vulnerable Mallee constituents are being scammed.  In Canberra during parliament’s final fortnight for 2024, I shared Mallee horror scam stories – including my own - as I spoke on Labor’s new Scam Prevention Framework Bill.  

Labor protects the big banks.  Readers will recall my advocacy to halt regional bank branch closures so forgive me if I’m not terribly sympathetic to the big banks who, like Labor, rob regions to improve outcomes for city people.

Arguably the home of global banking, the United Kingdom, sees 13 major banks reimbursing an astonishing 72 per cent of people who have been scammed. In Australia, that figure is less than 5 per cent.  In fact, in October new British laws came into force compelling their banks to reimburse customers in 99.9 per cent of cases.

Yet here in Australia, Labor’s new scam prevention ‘framework’ merely offers vulnerable people a new complaints game of snakes and ladders.  

Scammers are the scum of the earth, casting around for vulnerable people who are not fools.  I’ll argue with anyone suggesting my constituents are stupid for being duped out of their money.  

Recently a constituent was on the phone to his wife – one of my staff – to ‘Microsoft’ on a 1800-number after his computer had ‘crashed’.  The scam scares people into calling a ‘helpline’ which is in fact the scammers. Do not be duped. Unplug your computer.

Emily from Mildura is an 82-year-old widow, and 44 days after losing her husband,  Emily lost a horrifying $157,000 in another fake ‘Microsoft’ scam.  Her bank reimbursed her just $22.36. I called the bank in to my Parliament House office last week, and I am pleased to say a settlement and fairer reimbursement will now occur.  As I told Parliament, it should not take a Member of Parliament’s intervention to produce compassion.

Banks in Australia do not feel the weight of the law compelling them to do more. Scammers succeed against people through phishing nets, and people are caught because they are vulnerable.  

Please visit www.scamwatch.gov.au to learn the warning signs and discuss scam risks with vulnerable loved ones – before it’s too late.

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MORE: Dr Webster talks about Emily's case in Parliament

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