International Justice Mission (IJM) warmly welcomes Asisstant Treasurer Stephen Jones' announcing a Scam Code Act, to introduce new requirements on companies to contribute to disrupting financial scams.
IJM Australia CEO David Braga said that the obligations being introduced by the Scam Code Act will be valuable by requiring companies to take responsibility for the scams being carried out through their platforms and services.
"The scamming industry is complex, and it is vast – the ACCC estimates that A$2.7 billion a year is lost to scams in Australia, and the United States Institute of Peace estimates that the funds stolen by criminal syndicates based in Mekong countries alone likely exceeds USD$43.8 billion a year.
"It is one thing for governments and law enforcement to take strong action against scams, but by involving the private sector we can start to make a real dent in the profitability and feasibility of the industry.
"Companies and platforms through the carriage of their service are inadvertently enabling these scams to be propagated – and so they have a responsibility to protect consumers.
"The private sector holds significant tools to disrupt and prevent the further growth of scams and scamming syndicates.
"The proposal put forward by the Assistant Minister today is a fantastic step forward which will not only protect Australians from harm, but will also be important in reducing harm to human trafficking.
"Every Australian has received a scamming phone call or message – but many are not aware that oftentimes the people on the other side of the device are themselves victims of human trafficking.
"These are people often being held against their will and forced into criminality by large scale criminal enterprises. Southeast Asia a hotspot for this type of crime, having been turbocharged through the pandemic.
"Anything that can be done to make these scamming operations less profitable, and put an end to this industry, is also therefore contributing to the humanitarian effort of protecting people who may fall prey to these criminal gangs.
"We cannot underestimate the value of the private sector working with government and law enforcement to contribute to putting an end to this crime.
"Collaborating more closely as they strengthen their own response to scams, and investing in cross-sector connection points and tiplines is what we need to provide a unified front in the fight against scamming."
