Westpac warns Meta on Facebook marketplace scams

Meta has been accused by Westpac of failing to deal with a scam and fraud epidemic, with the big four bank taking aim at the tech player for failing to deal with fake posts.

Westpac has written to Meta over concerns with the company’s Facebook marketplace, Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

Social media giant Meta has been accused by Westpac of failing to deal with a scam and fraud epidemic with the big four bank taking aim at the tech player for failing to deal with fake posts.

Westpac customer and corporate services group executive Carolyn McCann wrote to Meta on August 2 raising 360 scam incidents noted by the bank since October last year, saying the social media giant was failing to tackle scams on its platforms.

In the letter, seen by The Australian, Ms McCann implored a Meta representative “to review the way the Facebook platform is being used to scam ordinary Australians”.

“I see every single day the increasing impact this scourge is having on customers and the community,” she said.

The flashpoint follows the competition regulator earlier this year taking a swing at Meta over its handling of scams, warning the tech giant was the worst tech giant to deal with when trying to stamp out financial crime.

Ms McCann noted Westpac had been alerted to at least 320 customers who reported they had been scammed through Meta’s Facebook Marketplace platform.

This was in addition to another 40 Westpac customers who reported they had been scammed through house or car rental ads placed on Facebook.

Westpac noted several customers who had lost thousands of dollars on the scams.

This included one customer who lost $80,000 on a crypto scam advertised on Facebook.

A recent court judgement found half the cryptocurrency related ads on Facebook, highlighted in an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission case, were scams or violated Meta’s policies.

This included “celeb-bait” cases where fake public figures endorsed products, with the court noting these had been on Facebook since at least September 2017.

Several Westpac customers also lost thousands on fake rental bond cases, or fake car deposit incidents.

“These numbers are only for Westpac customers. Across the financial services sector, the number would be significantly higher,” Ms McCann said.

Ms McCann called on Meta to meet to discuss the issue, however Westpac reported no response was received.

Ms McCann, who is responsible for handling Westpac’s scam and fraud prevention, said social media companies should pay more attention to the issue of crime on their platforms.

“That’s where many scams find their victims,” she said.

“I recently wrote to Meta regarding 360 different scams on Facebook which Westpac customers have complained about. We’re ready to work with Meta to get these scams taken down.”

The broadside from the banking giant is the third time Westpac has raised concerns with Meta over its social media platforms and their use by scammers and fraudsters.

Meta responded to Westpac’s latest missive on Friday, after failing to respond to one of the bank’s earlier two letters, 16 days after it was sent and only after it was raised by The Australian.

This saw the social media platform outline to Westpac some of the action it was taking on scams.

A Meta spokesman told The Australian the company had recently joined an intel-exchange deal with Australia’s bank and telcos.

“We believe that cross-industry collaboration is the most impactful way to tackle scams, and we look forward to continuing this essential work as we deepen our collaborative efforts with industry partners, the government and law enforcement on this important issue,” he said.

As part of efforts to stamp out scammers on its platforms, Meta announced in June it would require advertisers to provide verified phone numbers before posting ads, for the first time.