ANZ Bank is facing criticism after staff assisted a scam victim in transferring $250,000 to an account flagged for fraud just weeks after another victim lost the same amount to an account under the same name.
Despite being alerted to fraudulent activity linked to CADT Holdings in June 2023, ANZ facilitated another transfer to a similar account in July.
Financial experts have condemned the bank’s failure in fraud detection, urging compensation for the victim.
ANZ admitted that it does not match account names for suspected scams, relying solely on account numbers, and did not issue an industry-wide alert due to legal concerns.
The scandal has raised concerns about banking security practices, as multiple victims have collectively lost over $1.53 million to accounts allegedly linked to a money laundering operation.
ANZ has since agreed to review its handling of the transaction following media scrutiny.
