The National Anti-Scam Centre has created new, dynamic partnerships between government and industry participants from the finance, telecommunications and digital platforms sectors.

We use these connections to share insights and opportunities to target scam activity, and mitigate the harms to diverse and vulnerable communities.

The impact of these unique and dynamic partnerships is reflected in recent reduced scam losses to Australian consumers.

Data sharing

Technology enables us to ingest, analyse and share data at scale and supports collaborative strategies for scam disruption, victim support and scam awareness across government and in partnership with industry.

Before the National Anti-Scam Centre was established, data sharing was manual and disparate. Through enhanced information-sharing, we receive near real-time automated data from ReportCyber, and regular scam data from the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX) in addition to the scam reports we receive through our Scamwatch reporting service.

We’re also creating a new system to support high-frequency, secure data sharing with different agencies, organisations and industry. 

The new data-sharing system will enable us to:

  • receive a report of a scam from any institution or individual (private or government) to build comprehensive intelligence on scam activity in Australia
  • distribute data in near real-time to organisations that can accelerate action – for example, financial institutions to freeze an account, telecommunications providers to block a call, digital platforms to take down a website or social media account
  • analyse and act on the trends from this intelligence to disrupt scams and educate consumers
  • make it easier for victims to make a report, with a 'no wrong door' approach.

Strength in numbers

Government

The fight against scams is a whole-of-government approach, we work closely with fellow regulators the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

We also share information and contribute to consumer awareness and education campaigns across government, including:

  • Australian Tax Office (ATO)
  • Attorney General’s Department
  • Services Australia
  • Department of Home Affairs
  • Australian Signals Directorate
  • Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
  • National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

Industry

We bring together industry participants from the finance, telecommunications and digital platforms sectors with government to accelerate action.

We share insights to help the private sector to detect and disrupt scams and are finding new ways to collaborate to drive down scam losses.

Law enforcement

Almost all scams are crimes of deception or fraud. This means law enforcement agencies are responsible for the arrest and prosecution of scammers.

We work closely with law enforcement agencies, sharing information with federal, state and territory police to support efforts to stop scammers here and overseas.

We currently have staff embedded with the Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3), which brings together all Australian policing jurisdictions and partners with international agencies to ensure maximum impact on high-harm, high-volume cybercrime affecting the Australian community.

International engagement

The fight against scams is a global one which requires strong international cooperation. We have developed cross-jurisdictional partnerships with key international stakeholders to protect our nation from scammers. We share intelligence, learning and anti-scam strategies to join forces against criminals who work across borders.