CBA sees customer scam losses fall by 76% and adds two new forms of armour to help keep customers safe

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What's the news?

• CommBank has seen a 76% drop in customer scam losses since peak (2H25 vs. 1H23)
• CommBank invested over $900 million in FY25 to help protect its customers against fraud, scams, financial crime and cyber threats
• CommBank has unveiled two new defensive assets to help protect customers from scammers:
  • A pioneering Gen AI scam detection tool that lets customers test suspicious text messages
  • And a new security feature in the CommBank app will reduce the need for one-time passcodes to authorise online card transactions

Related articles

• Strengthening scam protection: Introducing Confirmation of Payee
• CommBank harnesses near real-time, AI-powered intelligence to outsmart the scammers

Digital identity protection app, Truyu, has launched a pilot of a free Gen AI-powered tool to help Australians figure out if a text message might be a scam.

Anyone using the Truyu app - built by CommBank's venture scaling arm x15ventures - can now take a screenshot of a suspicious looking SMS, upload it into the app, and get instant analysis from the free Scam Checker tool.

Melanie Hayden, Managing Director at Truyu, said: "Scam Checker uses Gen AI and CommBank scams intelligence - it's a powerful combination.

"There's no single solution to stop scammers, but people can help protect themselves when they stop and check. Scam Checker is another great way to check."

"When you upload a suspicious text to Scam Checker, you're not just protecting yourself. You're also helping keep others safe by sharing valuable information that can be used to help protect them too."

Scam Checker is the latest feature in the Truyu app, which launched last year to help Australians guard against identity theft.1

It's already helped thousands by alerting them in near real-time when their identity is used at major merchants - like banks and telcos - or when their personal information is exposed in a data breach.2 The app then guides them on what to do next.

With Scam Checker now added to Truyu, and more features in development, the app is a helpful tool for guiding people on ways they can protect their identity.

Verify online card transactions in the CommBank app

Customers using the CommBank app will now be asked to verify certain online card transactions via the app - before the transaction is authorised, in real-time. This will reduce the need for one-time passcodes for those transactions.

James Roberts, CommBank's General Manager of Group Fraud, said: "Scammers often impersonate legitimate businesses by sending fraudulent text messages to trick customers into following instructions in the message.

"We're now asking those customers who use the CommBank app to verify some online card transactions directly in the app instead of sending them a code. We are able to give clearer guidance and warnings in the app than in a text message."

The CommBank app uses advanced device recognition adding another layer of protection against account takeover.

"Earlier this year CommBank introduced in-app authentication to help stop unauthorised access to a customer's online banking, even if a would-be intruder has obtained the customer's password.

"We're now looking at progressively moving other sensitive notifications and actions into the app - such as transaction alerts and security prompts - to enhance customer protections," Mr Roberts added.

CommBank's new in-app verification for certain online card transactions will be offered to customers from this month.

Go to CBA Newsroom for the latest news and announcements from Commonwealth Bank.

• Artificial intelligence
• Scams and fraud
• x15ventures