According to Scam Watch, Australians have lost at least $159m to 164,11 scams so far this year, with the total amount likely much higher, as not every scam victim makes a report to the organisation. On Friday, the federal assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, said the government would introduce large fines for companies if “they have done the wrong thing”. Speaking with ABC, Jones said: “The new laws that I’ve published today … [introduce] tough new obligations on banks, on telecommunications companies, on social media companies to prevent, to detect, to disrupt and to report and to respond to scam content within their businesses.”

“And if they don’t meet those obligations, then, yes, compensation will flow, not just [from] the banks. If the telcos have done the wrong thing, they’ll be in the gun. If the social media platforms have done the wrong thing, then they’re in the frame as well.”

According to Jones, under these new measures, which would be out for consultation for three weeks, scam victims can seek compensation from a telco, digital platform or a bank by taking their case to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

As part of this report, banks will have to report a scam to authorities immediately and attempt to stop the payment from going through.

They will also have to identify and shut down money mule accounts, which receive and shift scam victim’s money.