HSBC Bank Australia to be sued for failing to protect customers from scams

The corporate watchdog is suing banking giant HSBC for failing to protect 950 Australian customers from a “spoofing scam” that netted $23 million over nearly five years.

950 reports alleged scammers took a total of $23 million between January 2020 and August 2024.

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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) lodged the claim in federal court today.

In the “spoofing” scam, fraudsters would disguise their phone number so that text messages appeared in the same text chain as legitimate HSBC messages. Scam calls also appeared to be from the bank.

ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court alleged the bank’s failings were “widespread and systemic”.

Court said HSBC Australia took on average 95 days to restore customer’s full access to their own bank accounts.

“All banks need to pull their weight in the fight against scams. We will not hesitate to take court action where we consider banks fail to comply with their obligations to protect their customers,” she said.

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