NAB has stopped and recovered more than $48 million in customer funds from scammers over six months, as part of a growing set of anti-fraud measures.
Between October 2024 and March 2025, the bank prevented an average of nearly $2 million per week from falling into the hands of criminals, according to Chris Sheehan (pictured), NAB executive of group investigations.
“We’re continuing to invest to reduce the impact of scams. We stopped and recovered more than $48 million of customers’ money from being sent to scammers between October 2024 and March 2025,” said Sheehan, a former Australian Federal Police executive.
NAB’s real-time payment alerts – triggered within its app and internet banking platform – are playing a critical role in alerting customers at the moment of transaction.
“In addition to the $48 million+ in stopped and recovered scam payments, customers have also abandoned more than $195 million worth of payments in that same, six-month period, after receiving a real-time payment alert,” Sheehan said.
The alerts are designed to flag high-risk transactions and are tailored to catch a range of scams including invoice, investment, romance, and goods and services frauds. Customers may be warned when a payment seems unusual or matches known scam patterns.
The growing use of artificial intelligence by scammers is making it increasingly difficult for consumers to tell real from fake.
“That’s why we need to be proactive and prevent scams, rather than reacting after they’ve happened,” Sheehan said.
Sheehan also highlighted the rise in social engineering tactics, where scammers manipulate victims into making payments themselves.
“These grubs are also experts in socially engineering people to make the payment themselves, including coaching about what to say when talking to our bankers,” the NAB executive said. “We can, and will, do more to help drive these criminals out of Australia.”
To complement its technology-based prevention efforts, NAB has launched a new digital education campaign aimed at the social media platforms, websites, and apps where scams often begin.
The campaign highlights common red flags and is backed by NAB Secure – an enterprise-wide initiative focused on fraud education, prevention, and real-time customer support.
“It’s critical Australians know how to recognise key red flags like unexpected contact and pressure to act,” Sheehan said.
