Australian banks blast Meta calling for it to protect consumers from scams on Facebook

One in five Australians believe Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been “encouraging scams”. Now the banks have had enough.

Facebook owner Meta has been accused of encouraging scams online, which fleeced almost $100 million from Australians last year.

New research shows one in five Australians believe that the company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, was “encouraging scams”.

Investment scams, fake celebrity endorsements and Facebook marketplace rip offs are among the dodgy schemes promoted on the social media platforms.

And organised criminals are getting access to WhatsApp contacts where they are texting scams directly to victims.

New research shows one in five Australians believe that the company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, was “encouraging scams”. Picture: Lionel Bonadventure / AFP

The Australian Banking Association, which includes CBA, NAB, ANZ and Westpac and commissioned the research, has demanded the social media giants do more to protect Australians.

It follows News Corp Australia’s Let them Be Kids campaign, calling on the federal government to raise the age limit at which children can access social media to 16 years.

Complaints about social media scams surged more than 30 per cent last year.

There were 17,542 complaints to the Federal Government’s Scamwatch site in 2023.

Phone companies have successfully cracked down on scam calls, with complaints dropping 13 per cent last year.

Millions of dodgy calls, many to isolated pensioners seeking to trick them into revealing their bank details, have been blocked by telcos.

But Facebook has become a cesspool of scams, with pages set up dedicated to alerting people about the dangers.

“You’ll be wasting your time trying to get Facebook to do anything to help you. They’re simply not interested in anything that doesn’t generate revenue,” a user said.

Heartless criminals have been pretending to sell pets on Facebook marketplace by taking money from unsuspecting owners then never delivering.

Millions of dodgy calls, many to isolated pensioners seeking to trick them into revealing their bank details, have been blocked by telcos. Picture: iStock

The Australian Banking Association commissioned the research from polling company Pyxis, which surveyed 1594 people, ahead of its conference in Melbourne on Wednesday.

Senior bankers from across the country will meet to discuss how banks, telcos and social media giants can share information to prevent scams.

ABA chief executive Anna Bligh said Australians were under attack from scammers.

“Australians lose the most amount of money to investment scams, many of which are promoted on digital platforms, while online marketplaces are also rife with buying and selling scams,” she said.

“The time for voluntary codes is over. Digital platforms need to get on-board with mandatory codes.

“If they’re not willing to back these mandatory codes, I’m not sure the platforms can say they’re doing everything possible to combat scams.”

Meta said in a statement that it rejects “any suggestion that Meta encourages scams on our platforms.”

“The safety of our users is of utmost importance to us, and it makes no commercial sense to allow scams on our platforms.

“Scammers present a challenge in many environments including social media, and they are constantly finding new ways to deceive people.”

Originally published as Australian banks blast Meta calling for it to protect consumers from scams on Facebook