Canberra, Sep 13
The Australian government has announced plans to issue fines worth millions of dollars to companies that fail to protect customers from scams.
On Friday, Stephen Jones, the assistant treasurer, released details of the government's proposed new laws, that would force banks, telecommunications companies and technology giants to do more to protect customers under mandatory sector-specific codes.
The codes will create new obligations for designated sectors to combat scammers and protect Australians, news agency reported.
Companies in those sectors that fail to meet their obligations will face fines worth up to $33.6 million.
Under the laws, the government will initially designate banks, telecommunication service providers and a range of digital platform services related to social media, paid search engine advertising and direct messaging services as the affected sectors.
"We want to ensure that the best protections anywhere in the world are available to people here in Australia," Jones said in a statement.
"Australians are losing too much money to scams and while we've bucked the international trend where scams are doubling yearly, losses are still far too much."