Netsafe announced a number of innovations aimed at strengthening New Zealand’s defenses against scammers. ReScam.org is at the heart of this initiative, a powerful artificial intelligence tool that aims to frustrate scammers and stop them from targeting new targets.
Re:Scam was first released in 2017 and since then has evolved into a more sophisticated tool. The tool uses AI to engage scammers into never-ending conversations, with multiple personalities and a growing vocabulary. This makes it difficult for scammers to realize they are interacting a bot. Users are encouraged forward suspicious emails to the me@rescam.org system, where it can take over and divert the scammers’ efforts.
Brent Carey is the CEO of Netsafe. He highlighted the impact Re:Scam had when it was developed. “When Re:Scam first developed in 2017, the cat-and-mouse game sent more than one million emails to scammers wasting their time for more than five years,” he said.
New Zealand’s economy will be hit hard by scams. The estimated cost is NZD 2 billion per year, which is 0.85% of GDP in 2023. Despite these numbers, New Zealand is still considered to be lagging behind other OECD countries in its response to scams. The government has urged banks to invest in technology upgrades to combat this problem.
Netsafe’s research and that of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance found that scams can have a significant emotional impact on victims. 53% of New Zealanders surveyed reported experiencing significant distress after a scam. Only a small percentage of scam incidents is reported to the police, in part because resources are limited. Only 15% of people who try to recover money lost in scams succeed.
Netsafe has launched new scam-busting services and tools every month this year. This follows their “State of Scams Report” published at the end of the 2023. Cybera, Dolla and Akau, which span the banking, cryptocurrency and telecommunications industries, have also established partnerships with Netsafe. This gives victims more options to try and recover their losses.
Brent Carey said that the entire ecosystem must be mobilised in order to combat scams effectively and efficiently. “Netsafe’s primary focus is on consumer protection, incident management, and victim remediation. Netsafe cannot change the banking system or bring about legislative or regulatory changes. However, our 25-year-old experience in harm prevention and our award-winning, online harms and frauds helpline are well-known and trusted ways for consumers to report scams. People trust us because we are independent, confidential and not tied to the government or the banks they bank with.
Netsafe is also expanding its international collaborations in order to incorporate best practices within New Zealand’s strategies for scam prevention. Netsafe will host a virtual meeting for the Oceania Chapter of the Global Anti Scam Alliance during Netsafety Week. Netsafe also joined the international non profit organisation, Cyber Helpline. This organisation aims to deploy cybersecurity services, tools, and programs on an international scale.
Brent Carey concluded: “We are doing our part to help New Zealanders navigate safely and confidently the digital landscape.” These new initiatives demonstrate our commitment to innovation and collaboration as well as proactive action against online fraud. Netsafe’s helpline receives around 15,000 reports of scams each year, and new scam-busting tools will be released in 2024 and 2025.