In Australia, fraud victims foot the bill for the overwhelming majority of cash lost to fraud every year.

2023 review by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) found that banks detected and stopped only a small proportion of frauds. The total amount paid by banks in compensation pales compared to their total losses.

So it was a robust statement this week when it was revealed that it had been made by the Australian Financial Conduct Authority (AFCA). ordered bank – HSBC – to compensate a customer who lost greater than $47,000 to a complicated bank impersonation or spoofing scam.

This decision was significant. The AFCA decision is binding on the relevant bank or other financial institution that holds it no direct right of appeal. This may have an effect on the way similar cases are treated in the future.

The ruling comes amid a broader push for sector-wide reforms that will allow banks to be more accountable detectiondeterring and responding to fraud, fairly than simply telling customers to be “more careful.”

Here’s what it’s good to learn about this landmark ruling and what it could mean for consumers.

A highly sophisticated spoofing scam.

You may be accustomed to push payment scams, which trick victims into depositing money right into a fake account. These include “Mom, I lost my phone” fraud and others romance fraud.

The a recent case concerned an equally damaging ‘bank spoofing’ or ‘counterfeiting’ scam. The complainant – referred to as ‘Mr T’ – was duped into allowing the fraudster access to his HSBC account from which the unauthorized payment was made.

The scammer sent Mr. T a text message, purporting to ask him to research an attempted Amazon transaction.

While trying to reply to a (fake) unauthorized purchase on Amazon, Mr. T revealed security codes to the fraudster, allowing him to transfer $47,178.54 from his account and disappear with it.

The proven fact that Mr. T. was coping with fraudsters was not obvious – the fraudsters had details about him that might reasonably be expected to be known only to the bank, e.g. his bank username.

Moreover, the fraudulent text message appeared in a thread of other legitimate text messages that had previously been sent by the real HSBC.

AFCA decision

HSBC argued to AFCA that under Art E-payment codea voluntary code of conduct administered by ASIC.

Under this code, the bank is just not obliged to compensate the customer for an unauthorized payment if the customer has disclosed his password. The bank argued that the complainant had voluntarily disclosed these codes to the fraudster, which meant the bank didn’t must pay.

AFCA disagreed. He noted that the deception worked by making a sense of urgency and crisis. AFCA found that the complainant had been manipulated into revealing the access codes and had not acted voluntarily.

AFCA awarded damages covering the overwhelming majority of the disputed transaction amount, lost interest accrued on the home loan account, and $5,000 to cover Mr. T’s legal costs.

He also ordered the bank to pay $1,000 in damages for poor customer support in handling the matter, including delays in communication.

Other cases may be more complex

In this case, the determination was relatively easy. It found that Mr T had not voluntarily disclosed his account information and was due to this fact not excluded from receiving compensation under the Electronic Payments Code.

However, many payment frauds fall outside the scope of the Electronic Payments Code because they involve the customer sending money on to the fraudster (versus the fraudster getting access to the customer’s account). This means there isn’t a code for direct compensation.

Nevertheless, AFCA’s jurisdiction is broader than the mere application of the Code. When considering compensation for losses arising from fraud, AFCA must consider what’s “fair in all the circumstances.” This means taking into consideration:

• legal principles
• applicable industry codes
• good industry practice
• previous AFCA decisions.

Relevant aspects may include whether the bank has been proactive in responding to known fraud, in addition to the challenges individual customers face in identifying fraud.

Wider reforms are underway

At the heart of AFCA’s findings is the recognition that it might increasingly be nearly inconceivable for customers to detect sophisticated fraud, which can mean they should not acting voluntarily when making payments to fraudsters.

Similar reasoning has been utilized in quite a lot of recent reform initiatives that place greater responsibility for detecting and responding to fraud on banks fairly than on their customers.

In 2023, the Australian banking sector committed to introducing a brand new “Fraud-safe agreement“. This means a commitment to implement latest customer protection measures, including recipient service confirmation, delays for latest payments and biometric identity checks for latest accounts.

The changes on the horizon may be more ambitious and significant.

Proposed Fraud prevention framework the laws would require Australian banks, telecommunications corporations and digital platforms take reasonable steps to forestall, detect, report, disrupt and reply to fraud.

It would also include a compulsory external dispute resolution process, comparable to under AFCA, for consumers in search of compensation in the event of failure to comply with any of those institutions.

Fighting fraud is just not just an Australian problem. Newly introduced in the UK rules require paying and receiving banks to compensate customers for losses resulting from fraud as much as £85,000 (S$165,136), unless the customer is grossly negligent.

According to reports, undefeated retired boxer Floyd Mayweather has entered right into a cooperation agreement with Black Spruce Management.

According to Mayweather, yes investing $402 million for a 1,000-unit inexpensive housing portfolio spanning over 60 buildings in Manhattan, in the guts of New York City. The deal was reportedly made with Josh Gotlib of Black Spruce Management. As of now, Black Spruce and Mayweather haven’t released any details or comments. However, media reported that the multifamily real estate deal is concentrated on Upper Manhattan and shall be one in every of the biggest transactions in the town this 12 months.

A portion of the portfolio closed on October 17, and the rest of the transaction is anticipated to shut in the fourth quarter or early first quarter of 2025.

In 2021, Black Spruce worked recapitalize 1,800-unit Article XI contract. They planned to perform this by selling interests in 97 buildings, that are also primarily positioned in Upper Manhattan and comprise six portfolios. The company planned to sell a 49.9 percent stake, which might value the deal at $700 million.

Money is flowing like water for Mayweather, because it was recently reported that the previous boxer had purchased 4 million-dollar luxury watches. Not to be outdone, when he heard that luxury watch designer Avi & Co was debuting a brand new watch collection, he was able to buy it. However, after seeing the 4 watches in the gathering, he decided to easily buy the complete set.

They cost $250,000 each, giving him a $1 million return. In doing so, he became the primary person to own all 4 watches from the Avi & Co Hue collection.

“It’s hard to choose one watch; they are all unique watches. I’m proud of Avi and I support him. He’s my friend and if I want to hang out with him, I can. You can’t do that with a Rolex or AP (Audemars Piguet) owner.”

New Zealand is extremely depending on trade, especially sea routes, which give a lifeline for exports and imports. Key sectors akin to agriculture, construction and wholesale and retail trade are highly depending on this global network.

External events can seriously disrupt the flow of products, delay deliveries or damage critical infrastructure.

However, a crisis like the COVID pandemic may disrupt business commitments to sustainability goals akin to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, minimizing waste and improving resource efficiency.

This is very important because over the last decade, several large New Zealand firms have introduced sustainability measures into their operations.

Fonterra, for instance, has adopted low-carbon logistics and distribution practices. Zespri uses blockchain technology to improve transparency of its sustainable practices and improve tracking throughout its supply chain. Air New Zealand works with local suppliers and undertakes initiatives to reduce carbon emissions.

in ours recent researchwe reviewed 287 studies on supply chains. We’ve identified key tensions between efficiency and sustainability, and how major disruptions to supply chains and operations can disrupt the balance between them.

On the one hand, firms are under pressure to maintain lean and lean operations. On the other hand, the need to build resilience and sustainable development is increasingly recognized, especially in the face of climate change.

Traditional strategies

New Zealand’s supply chains are vulnerable to disruption from natural disasters (akin to earthquakes and floods), geopolitical tensions and global health crises.

Historically, firms have responded in a wide range of ways: by diversifying suppliers, increasing inventory buffers, and securing alternative transportation routes.

The use of technologies akin to radio frequency identification has played a key role in tracking goods throughout the supply chain. Provides real-time visibility and accurate inventory management.

Blockchain is becoming a key tool to ensure more sustainable supply chains. This technology uses a digital ledger to keep information secure and easier to track.

However, continued technological innovation can leave people and businesses at an obstacle with limited resources and opportunities in the supply chain.

Implementing a circular economy

During the pandemic, businesses have experienced shortages of key supplies, delivery delays and demand fluctuations. This forced them to temporarily abandon long-term sustainability strategies in favor of short-term survival tactics.

It made sense from a business standpoint. However, to build more resilient and sustainable supply chains, firms will need to transcend traditional strategies.

Our research shows that incorporating circular economy principles into supply chain management may help create a buffer for businesses.

The circular economy model focuses on minimizing waste – keeping products and materials in use for so long as possible. It also focuses on regenerating natural systems to support economic, social and environmental resilience.

Companies can reduce their dependence on external supply chains by specializing in material reuse, creating closed-loop systems with regional partners and improving existing technologies.

By fostering stronger connections with local suppliers and specializing in regional sourcing, firms can reduce their exposure to global risk. This may even help build more self-sustaining supply chain ecosystems.

Building sustainable supply chains requires investing in advanced technologies akin to blockchain and artificial intelligence. However, the implementation of those technologies needs to be done fastidiously and in stages to minimize disruption. Taking things slowly may allow all supply chain partners to be included in these technological changes.

The way forward

The way forward for New Zealand’s supply chain is dependent upon greater collaboration between all parties involved, including businesses, policymakers and communities.

In practice, this implies working together to build systems that usually are not only efficient and cost-effective, but in addition resilient and sustainable.

Similarly, resilient supply chains require regional production ecosystems. To reduce the risks arising from disruptions in the global supply chain, it’s crucial to support local production, even when production costs at sea are lower.

This would require government support and strategic investment in regional manufacturing innovations.

While New Zealand’s supply chains face significant challenges, there is big opportunity to transform them to ensure a more resilient and sustainable future.

By integrating circular economy principles, leveraging advanced technologies and supporting regional cooperation, New Zealand can build supply chains which can be prepared to withstand future crises, in addition to contributing to the country’s sustainability goals.