HSBC Australia agrees to pay a penalty of about $35 million after admitting it failed to protect customers from scams, following action by Australia’s corporate regulator. Multiple reports say the regulator found weaknesses in how HSBC responded to and prevented unauthorised transactions involving customers. The accounts describe a scam affecting more than 1,000 customers between January 2020 and August 2024, involving impersonation scams in which criminals claimed to be HSBC staff. Sources state the scammers used text messages and spoofed phone numbers to persuade victims to make transfers of large sums of money. One report indicates the transactions linked to the scam approach roughly A$35 million in total, tied to unauthorised transactions. The penalty is presented as a significant regulatory outcome, with at least one outlet describing it as among the first of its kind internationally. HSBC’s agreement reflects an admission of shortcomings in protecting customers and responding to scam risk. The reports do not indicate whether the bank accepted fault beyond the regulator’s findings, but they consistently describe the same timeframe, customer count, scam method, and penalty amount.
HSBC Australia fined $35m after admitting failures to prevent customer scams
HSBC Australia agrees to pay a penalty of about $35 million after admitting it failed to protect customers from scams, following action by Australia’s corporate regulator. Multiple reports say the reg...
- HSBC Australia agrees to pay a penalty of about $35 million after admitting failures to protect customers from scams.
- The regulator’s findings cover more than 1,000 reports of scam-related unauthorised transactions.
- The incidents occurred from January 2020 to August 2024, with unauthorised activity linked to roughly A$35 million.
- Scammers used impersonation tactics, including pretending to be HSBC staff, along with text messages and spoofed numbers.
- Multiple reports describe the outcome as a major regulatory action, with one outlet calling it among the first of its kind globally.
The corporate regulator said the outcome is ‘one of the first of its kind globally’.
2 days agoMore than 1000 of HSBC’s Australian customers were targeted by the scheme where scammers used text messages and spoofed numbers to convince customers to transfer large sums of cash.
2 days agoMore than 1000 of HSBC’s Australian customers were targeted by the scheme where scammers used text messages and spoofed numbers to convince customers to transfer large sums of cash.
2 days agoMore than 1000 of HSBC’s Australian customers were targeted by the scheme where scammers used text messages and spoofed numbers to convince customers to transfer large sums of cash.
2 days agoHSBC Australia has admitted it failed to protect customers from scams and agreed to pay $35 million in penalty after being hit with legal action by the corporate watchdog.
3 days ago
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