Optus saves Australians USD $250 million with Call Stop feature

Optus has announced its continued efforts in combating scams, reporting that its Call Stop feature has saved Australians up to an estimated USD $250 million from fraudsters. The Call Stop technology intercepts and blocks calls to known scam numbers, playing a pivotal role in the firm's strategy to protect customers from falling victim to fraud.

In collaboration with the National Anti-Scam Centre and the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, Optus has enhanced its capacity to protect consumers nationwide. Optus revealed that its ScamWise feature and network had blocked 23 million scam calls and 36 million SMS from circulation in the last quarter alone, equating to an average of 1.8 million calls and 2.8 million SMS per week.

Data from Optus indicates that the top five scam categories targeting Australians in 2024 include tax scams, government impersonation, family impersonation, reward programs, and bank suspension. The company reported that its scam blocking volume reached a peak on 30 June, with over 2.4 million SMS blocked in a single day.

David Pegley, Managing Director of the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, highlighted the benefits of the Call Stop initiative. "Call Stop, an Australian-first initiative, has allowed the AFCX and the major banks to develop an 'Intel loop' to share scam intelligence across the telco and social media industries to thwart bank impersonation attempts," Pegley explained. "Shortening the time between detecting a scam and disrupting it means more Australians are protected."

According to Dr Mamello Thinyane, Associate Professor at the University of South Australia and Optus Chair of Cyber Security and Data Science, the landscape of online scams is constantly evolving due to technological advancements, including artificial intelligence (AI). "There are new techniques and types of scams enabled by technology and recent AI developments, but none of the underlying mechanisms are really new," said Dr Thinyane. "AI is enabling cybercriminals to quickly generate malicious software, produce appropriately crafted messages for phishing attacks, and create deepfakes that can mimic people's voices and faces in social engineering attacks."

Optus emphasised the importance of Scam Awareness Week, encouraging Australians to follow the government’s campaign theme, "Share a story, stop a scam," to arm people with the necessary tools to stay safe. Matt Williams, Optus Managing Director for Customer Solutions, commented on the company's proactive measures. "At a time when scammers continue to get more creative and aggressive, Optus blocking systems and scam tools such as Call Stop and Optus ScamWise protect our customers," said Williams. "We are seeing some consistent trends through Optus ScamWise. Typically, scammers won't address the individual by name and they have a sense of urgency associated with what they are asking. A lot of the scams have spelling mistakes and the majority are requesting customers follow a link instead of accessing an app, which would be more secure."

Williams also noted Optus's educational and technological initiatives, such as the Digital Thumbprint Program, SafeCall with Westpac, and a targeted Cultural and Linguistically Diverse Awareness campaign, all aimed at arming Australians with the right tools to combat fraud. Nearly 90,000 customers have reported suspicious text messages through the Optus ScamWise feature, contributing to the collective effort of scam prevention.

Key data highlights from Optus show that the firm blocked over 23 million scam calls and 36 million SMS in the last quarter. The National Anti-Scam Centre and Call Stop partnership have been credited with a USD $203 million reduction in scam losses over the past eight months. These measures come as the number of reported scams in Australia increased by 18.5 percent in 2023, with Australians losing USD $2.7 billion to scams.

The efforts by Optus underline the ongoing and collaborative fight against scams, with continued commitment to protecting consumers against increasingly sophisticated threats.