- Hon Andrew Bayly
With the launch of Fraud Awareness Week, the Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.
"Online financial scams are a growing problem for New Zealand. New data released today shows that Kiwis lost nearly $200 million to scammers in the last year. Considering estimates suggest that only one in five scams are reported, the real losses to New Zealanders are significantly higher," Mr Bayly says.
"Tackling online financial scams is part of our plan to rebuild the economy and crack down on crime by supporting Kiwis to safely transact and do business online.
"The fast-evolving nature of digital technology and the complexity of online scams - with most originating offshore - means that scam detection, prevention and response has largely fallen between the cracks of industry and government.
"To address this, I have been appointed the lead minister to coordinate activity and bring together industry and government partners. There is a lot of good work already going on to prevent and respond to scams, but it is siloed, disjointed and, in many cases, unsophisticated.
"For example there is no centralised, instantaneous method for reporting scams, which hampers our ability to respond quickly. Similarly, the focus has largely been on closing down individual scams, rather than developing systemic solutions.
"As the lead anti-scams minister, my plan includes three key components:
- Coordinate work across ministerial portfolios and public sector agencies to improve information sharing.
- Collaborate with industry to develop industry-led solutions within specific sectors (for example banks) and between different sectors (such as information sharing between telecommunications and banks).
- Engage with Ministerial counterparts in Australia and Singapore to establish a coordinated regional approach.
"It is time that we take decisive steps to tackle this issue head on.
"By enhancing our coordination efforts and tapping into international expertise, we can significantly improve our effectiveness in tackling this pervasive problem and prevent more Kiwis from becoming victims."
