Another major Australian bank said it would block some cryptocurrency platforms, citing the high risk of fraud in the industry.
National Australia Bank (NAB) as of today announced a new set of measures to protect customers from fraud “bank fraud prevention strategy”.
In addition to blocking millions of payments between March and July 2023, NAB will block “on certain cryptocurrency platforms” to help protect customers from scams.
NAB did not specify any references to cryptocurrency exchanges that should be blocked by the bank. Chris Sheehan, Head of NAB Investigations and Fraud Group, simply hinted: new blocks will target “high risk” platforms where “fraud is most prevalent”.
Sheikh said:

“These scammers are part of organized and transnational criminal groups. We are increasingly seeing them use crypto platforms to ship stolen funds quickly and frequently overseas.”

According to local reports, Sheehan hinted NAB blocks may affect crypto exchange Binance. “Our approach will be consistent with the rest of the industry”said the manager. In recent months, other major Australian banks, including Westpac and Commonwealth Bank, have also reportedly blocked payments to Binance.
NAB and Binance did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. The article will be updated pending new information.

Related: Binance Australia offices allegedly raided by local regulator

In the announcement, NAB continued to echo the growing narrative spread by local banks, claiming that: Almost 50% of fraudulent funds reported in Australia about cryptocurrencies.
“More generally, crypto scams are one of the fastest growing security threats with Australians losing more than $221 million last year.”reads the NAB statement. He also said 40% of Australians are “extremely willing” to slow down payments if they are “more protected from scammers”.

Translation of Walter Rizzo