Due of the huge scam risk in the cryptocurrency industry, another major Australian bank has announced that it will be blocking access to some cryptocurrency sites. National Australia Bank (NAB) introduced new anti-fraud safeguards on July 17 as part of a “bank-wide scam strategy.”
To safeguard its consumers from scams, NAB would restrict “some cryptocurrency platforms” between March and July 2023 and delay millions in payments. The names of the bitcoin exchanges that NAB plans to blacklist were not revealed. Chris Sheehan, NAB’s head of group investigations and fraud, casually noted that the new restrictions will affect “high-risk” platforms where “scams are more prevalent.”
The head of Australian bank gives statement about crypto
“These con artists belong to international criminal organizations. They are increasingly sending stolen money overseas via bitcoin exchanges.” Sheehan reportedly made a remark concerning the effect that NAB’s crypto blocks might have on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. The CEO was quoted as saying, “Our approach is going to be consistent with the rest of the industry.” Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank, two other major Australian financial institutions, have apparently restricted payments to Binance during the previous few months.
When reached for comment by Cointelegraph, neither NAB nor Binance immediately responded. If/when more information becomes available, this article will be revised. NAB’s comments echoed a common theme across Australian financial institutions: crypto is linked to roughly half of all scam money detected in the country.
“More broadly,” the NBA said, “cryptocurrency scams are one of the fastest-growing security threats,” with $221 million lost by Australians in 2018. Also, according to the authority, a whopping 40 percent of Aussies would be “extremely willing” to accept a payment delay if it meant being “better protected from scammers.”
To read our article about “Crypto companies have nowhere to hide with new rules, G20” click here.
