{"slug": "hsbc-coughs-up-25m-over-australian-scam-failures", "title": "HSBC coughs up $25m over Australian scam failures", "summary": "HSBC agreed to pay nearly $25 million after admitting failures in protecting Australian customers from scammers, marking one of the first cases globally where a bank is penalized for inadequate fraud controls. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission found HSBC lacked proper oversight on internal transfers from May 2023 to May 2024, leaving customers vulnerable to impersonation fraud.", "body_md": "# HSBC coughs up $25m over Australian scam failures\n\nHSBC has agreed to cough up just shy of $25m after admitting to failures in protecting customers in Australia from [scammers](https://www.cityam.com/fraud-losses-surge-as-scammers-use-ai-to-manipulate-victims/).\n\nThe Australian arm of [Europe’s biggest lender](https://www.cityam.com/hsbc-profit-drops-after-iran-war-and-private-credit-charges-bite/) was investigated by the watchdog over alleged “widespread and systematic failures” to shield its customers targeted by fraudsters.\n\nThe Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said it had found HSBC did not maintain adequate controls over its internal transfer systems between May 2023 and May 2024, which exposed customers to a higher risk of unauthorised transactions.\n\nThe [regulator](https://www.cityam.com/kemi-badenoch-pledges-to-wield-the-axe-on-post-financial-crisis-banking-regulation/) said HSBC was aware as early as May 2021 of the growing threat from impersonation fraud, where scammers were posing as HSBC representatives.\n\n“This is one of the first cases of its kind globally and sends a clear message that protecting customers from scams is a core responsibility of banks,” ASIC chair Sarah Court said.\n\nBoth the ASIC and HSBC will jointly-seek approval from the Federal Court for the proposed penalty of $24.6m (£18.5m).\n\nCourt said: “HSBC’s alleged failures left customers more vulnerable to scams, tens of millions of dollars out of pocket and waiting months to find out what had happened to their money.”\n\n## HSBC in hot water\n\nHSBC said it had apologised to customers and had already paid some £14m in refunds and compensation.\n\nA spokesperson said: “[The bank] has reached an agreement to resolve the proceedings with ASIC, which recognises our customer redress program and the significant enhancements made to our fraud and scam prevention, detection and response.”\n\nIt marks the latest regulatory headache for the London-listed lender, which earlier this year fell into hot water in France over a [scandal known as ‘cum-cum’ trading](https://www.cityam.com/hsbc-to-cough-up-230m-over-dividend-tax-fraud-claims/).\n\nThe [FTSE 100 titan](https://www.cityam.com/banks-woo-the-wealthy-to-ace-stable-income-streams/) was accused of helping foreign investors evade taxes on dividends through the sophisticated financial manoeuvre.\n\nThe case related to a series of transactions between 2014 and 2019, which were engaged in by the bank’s French unit, according to an investigation by France’s national prosecution – the Parquet National Financier (PNF).\n\nHSBC reached a €268m settlement with the PNF bringing to an end a long-running probe into the firm’s activity.\n\nElsewhere, over two years ago the Bank of England slapped the bank with a £57.4m fine for failing to protect customers’ deposits. It followed a hit in 2021 that topped £64m for weaknesses in its anti-money laundering controls.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/hsbc-coughs-up-25m-over-australian-scam-failures", "canonical_source": "https://www.cityam.com/hsbc-coughs-up-25m-over-australian-scam-failures/", "published_at": "2026-06-18 06:27:27+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-18 06:29:43.437294+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-safety", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["HSBC", "Australian Securities and Investments Commission", "Sarah Court", "Federal Court", "Bank of England", "Parquet National Financier"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/hsbc-coughs-up-25m-over-australian-scam-failures", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/hsbc-coughs-up-25m-over-australian-scam-failures.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/hsbc-coughs-up-25m-over-australian-scam-failures.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/hsbc-coughs-up-25m-over-australian-scam-failures.jsonld"}}