{"id":108151,"date":"2025-12-20T10:31:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T23:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=108151"},"modified":"2025-12-20T00:04:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T13:04:42","slug":"nab-blocks-thousands-transactions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/nab-blocks-thousands-transactions\/","title":{"rendered":"NAB Blocks Thousands of Abusive Transactions\u2014Are You at Risk?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NAB is taking action to stop abusive messages disguised as bank transactions, with a warning that accounts could be shut down for those caught in the act. Here\u2019s why it matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NAB Takes Action Against Financial Abuse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over the past year, NAB has blocked more than 580,000 abusive messages disguised as payment transfers. These messages typically contain threats, harassing language, or profanities and are sent to former or current partners, often in an attempt to control or intimidate them. In fact, from December 16 to 22 last year alone, NAB<\/a> blocked more than 3,900 of these abusive transactions\u2014a figure 18% higher than the weekly average. These transactions are usually small (less than $1) to avoid detection, but just as damaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NAB\u2019s Jocelyn Turner, customer services executive, explained to Yahoo Finance<\/a> the gravity of the situation: \u201cNo one should have to receive harmful or abusive messages disguised as a bank transfer. It\u2019s cruel, and we\u2019re stopping it.<\/em>\u201d Turner\u2019s comments highlight how even financial institutions are stepping up to tackle the scourge of financial abuse, which often intersects with domestic and family violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/YahooFinanceAU\/status\/2001801444765188315\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Growing Problem of Financial Abuse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This tactic of using bank transactions for abusive communication isn\u2019t unique to NAB. Commonwealth Bank has blocked more than a million abusive transactions since 2019, using AI models to detect harmful messages. Westpac<\/a> and ANZ have followed suit, implementing similar technologies to protect customers. The holiday season, with its heightened emotional and financial stress, often sees a spike in these harmful messages, making the banks’ efforts even more crucial during this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s even more disturbing is how these tactics are linked to a wider issue of family and gender-based violence, which is often exacerbated during the festive season. As Ciara Sterling, CEO of Thriving Communities Australia, noted, family violence is a \u201cnational crisis,<\/em>\u201d and the holiday period often triggers an increase in these types of incidents. This shows how interconnected our financial systems are with broader societal issues, and why tackling this problem head-on is so important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Can You Do?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As part of its initiative to curb financial abuse, NAB blocks over 1,300 offensive words and phrases from its system, constantly updating the list to include new terms. While these efforts are vital, they also highlight the increasing role that financial institutions play in addressing social issues. But this isn\u2019t just a job for banks; it\u2019s a problem that requires a multi-faceted approach. Collaboration across industries, systems, and communities is needed to create real change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic, family, or sexual violence, there are resources available. The 1800RESPECT service can be reached at 1800 737 732 or via their website at 1800RESPECT.org.au.
.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAB is cracking down on abusive payment transactions disguised as bank transfers, blocking hundreds of thousands to prevent harmful tactics during the holiday season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":108152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108151"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108153,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108151\/revisions\/108153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}