ANZ has introduced a 'Digital Padlock', which enables customers to shut down access to accounts if they suspect they are being scammed.
Designed to act as a ‘last resort’ lock, customers who suspect someone is trying to access their banking can activate Digital Padlock in their ANZ App, ANZ Internet Banking, or for ANZ Plus in the ANZ Plus App.
Once activated, Digital Padlock prevents digital access to a customer’s accounts, blocks their eligible banking cards, and secures banking services while they seek assistance. Digital account access will only be restored when customers contact ANZ directly and ANZ confirms it is safe to restore access.
ANZ fraud and scams lead, Melissa Hendrickson, says: “When a scam hits, every second counts. Digital Padlock lets customers shut things down immediately, providing real-time support in a stressful situation. It’s like locking your front door when something doesn’t feel right - simple, fast, and reassuring."
The introduction of the new feature comes as the Australian bank shared new data revealing that, in nine months alone, the bank successfully prevented and recovered more than $100 million in scam and fraud-related funds.
Between October 2024 and June 2025, ANZ customer financial losses to scam activity fell by 15% compared to the previous year. This is on top of a 49% reduction in customer losses for the same period last year, marking significant progress in the fight against cybercrime.
ANZ’s First Responders team played a critical role, resolving 93% of scam-related calls at first contact and handling nearly 150,000 calls during the reporting period.
Elsewhere in the Australian financial sector's actions to tackle scammer, National Australia Bank is asking new customers to take a ‘selfie’ as part of a new process to redcue identity theft when opening an account or product online.
In addition, they’ll be required to scan their identification document like a Driver’s License or Passport and hold their mobile phone up to their face to match the image.
The initiative will begin rolling out across select products in September, with further expansion to additional products and account types planned over the coming months.
NAB COO Les Matheson says: “This initiative will make it harder for criminals to open fraudulent accounts or apply for fraudulent credit cards using documents they’ve stolen from the dark web or from someone’s letter box."
NAB already uses biometric technology in other ways with about 2 million customers a month using FaceID or fingerprints to log in to the NAB App or Internet Banking.
NAB also uses another form of behavioural biometrics to help identify and detect suspicious transactions.
Separately, Macquarie Bank has joined BioCatch Trust Australia, an inter-bank, real-time fraud and scams intelligence-sharing network.
Launched in November of 2024 with five inaugural members, the network enables member banks to assess risk on the receiving end of transactions before any money leaves the sender’s account.
In its first 10 months, Trust Australia evaluated $500 billion in total payments and saved customers at member banks millions of dollars in potential losses. The addition of Macquarie, Australia’s fifth-largest bank, now means that 85% of customer accounts in Australia are covered by the network.