In the four months between March and July, NAB intervened in more than $270 million worth of customer payments that raised scam concerns.

12% of payments were abandoned when customers saw a real-time payment prompt in the NAB app, according to insights.

NAB Executive Group Fraud and Investigations According to Chris Sheehan, several measures put in place over the previous six months are working to protect customers from fraud.

"Key measures we've recently implemented include the introduction of payment prompts, action against spoofing, and a ban on the use of links in unexpected text messages. In an additional effort to stop con artists, we are now also taking steps to block some payments to high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges, Mr. Sheehan said.

"The payment prompts include a check list based on unusual activity intended to encourage the user to pause and carefully review the payment before sending it.

"Although many customers finish their payments after getting a prompt, we still see about $290,000 in abandoned payments every day. This indicates that customers are taking the time to pause and deliberate before making a purchase.

"While our primary goal is to make banking straightforward and digital, we've added this extra friction to help customers recognise danger signs. To prevent the crime from occuring, we must take all necessary precautions.

Former Australian Federal Police executive Mr. Sheehan argued that Australia needed to have a discussion about how to balance speed and safety in a digital economy.

Four out of ten Australians, according to our research, are "extremely willing" to accept slower payments in exchange for better scam protection, he said.

As part of new customer protections, NAB today announced the blocking of some payments made to risky cryptocurrency exchanges.

In the last 30 days, nearly 50% of scam funds reported to the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange were associated with cryptocurrencies. The independent initiative, which brings together industry groups, business organisations, and law enforcement agencies to combat financial and cybercrime, includes NAB as a participant.

Australians lost more than $221 million to cryptocurrency scams last year, making them one of the security threats with the fastest-growing threat growth.

"These con artists are associated with organised, international crime gangs. They are increasingly sending stolen money quickly and frequently overseas using cryptocurrency platforms, according to Mr. Sheehan.

"We want to lessen the impact on our customers and make it as difficult as we can for these criminals."

According to Mr. Sheehan, between January and May, there were 29% fewer reports of spoofing scams involving the NAB brand thanks to the bank's collaboration with telecommunications companies to prevent thieves from hacking legitimate text message threads and phone numbers.

"We continue to target these scams, and recently announced we're stopping the use of links in unexpected text messages as another way to try to stop the crime before it happens," he said.

"We continue to urge all Australians to remain vigilant, inquisitive, and knowledgeable about the most recent scams."

If a member of the public believes they have been scammed, NAB advises them to contact their bank and Scamwatch right away.

In order to prevent payments going to scammers, ANZ Banking Group will follow the other "big four" banks and implement a name-checking function on transactions.

CBA, Westpac, and NAB have gradually enabled similar capabilities over the first half of the year.

ANZ Chief Executive Shayne Elliott stated that the bank is "investing hundreds of millions of dollars in terms of scam prevention, and detection" during a parliamentary review of the nation's major banks.

He echoed recent NAB commentary when he said that the problem of consumers being victims of fraud or scams is "broader than just the banks."

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