Latest news with #BenYoung
Perth Now
23-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
The time you're most likely to get scammed
Australians are being warned to double-check any messages they receive in the afternoon, as new data reveals scammers are most likely to strike at the busy end of the day. The figures released by Westpac show scammers will most likely be successful on a Tuesday at 4pm. Australians are being urged to watch for messages at 4pm. Supplied Credit: Supplied Remote access scams are the most common way Aussies are being ripped off, while another 20 per cent are falling for fake investment opportunities and 13 per cent for buying and selling scams. While Australians are most likely to be targeted on near 4pm on a Tuesday, they are most likely to fall victim on a Thursday, with the majority of scams occurring after lunchtime during the week. Westpac head of fraud prevention Ben Young said Aussies were at their most vulnerable at this time as they were distracted while finishing their work day, picking up the kids or rushing to an afternoon gym session. 'We're seeing a clear pattern where scammers are striking later in the day, most commonly on Tuesday afternoons, when people are multi-tasking and not paying close attention to the signs that something could be a scam,' Mr Young said. Scammers are most likely to strike in the afternoon. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar Credit: NewsWire Mr Young said Australians were more likely to avoid suspicious messages in the morning, but let down their guards by the afternoon. 'That's the window scammers are counting on, and this is why it's so important for people to stay alert and take a moment to think before clicking links, sharing information or sending money,' he said. Mr Young said scammers could have a devastating impact on people's lives and urged Australians to remain vigilant. 'I would encourage everyone to keep their eyes peeled for scam activity and if you suspect you've been impacted, tell the bank immediately,' he said. 'The earlier we're notified, the sooner we're able to try and help.'
News.com.au
23-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Devastating': Major bank sounds the alarm over mid-afternoon messages
Australians are being warned to double-check any messages they receive in the afternoon, as new data reveals scammers are most likely to strike at the busy end of the day. The figures released by Westpac show scammers will most likely be successful on a Tuesday at 4pm. Remote access scams are the most common way Aussies are being ripped off, while another 20 per cent are falling for fake investment opportunities and 13 per cent for buying and selling scams. While Australians are most likely to be targeted on near 4pm on a Tuesday, they are most likely to fall victim on a Thursday, with the majority of scams occurring after lunchtime during the week. Westpac head of fraud prevention Ben Young said Aussies were at their most vulnerable at this time as they were distracted while finishing their work day, picking up the kids or rushing to an afternoon gym session. 'We're seeing a clear pattern where scammers are striking later in the day, most commonly on Tuesday afternoons, when people are multi-tasking and not paying close attention to the signs that something could be a scam,' Mr Young said. Mr Young said Australians were more likely to avoid suspicious messages in the morning, but let down their guards by the afternoon. 'That's the window scammers are counting on, and this is why it's so important for people to stay alert and take a moment to think before clicking links, sharing information or sending money,' he said. Mr Young said scammers could have a devastating impact on people's lives and urged Australians to remain vigilant. 'I would encourage everyone to keep their eyes peeled for scam activity and if you suspect you've been impacted, tell the bank immediately,' he said. 'The earlier we're notified, the sooner we're able to try and help.'
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The time you're most likely to get scammed
Australians are being warned to double-check any messages they receive in the afternoon, as new data reveals scammers are most likely to strike at the busy end of the day. The figures released by Westpac show scammers will most likely be successful on a Tuesday at 4pm. Remote access scams are the most common way Aussies are being ripped off, while another 20 per cent are falling for fake investment opportunities and 13 per cent for buying and selling scams. While Australians are most likely to be targeted on near 4pm on a Tuesday, they are most likely to fall victim on a Thursday, with the majority of scams occurring after lunchtime during the week. Westpac head of fraud prevention Ben Young said Aussies were at their most vulnerable at this time as they were distracted while finishing their work day, picking up the kids or rushing to an afternoon gym session. 'We're seeing a clear pattern where scammers are striking later in the day, most commonly on Tuesday afternoons, when people are multi-tasking and not paying close attention to the signs that something could be a scam,' Mr Young said. Mr Young said Australians were more likely to avoid suspicious messages in the morning, but let down their guards by the afternoon. 'That's the window scammers are counting on, and this is why it's so important for people to stay alert and take a moment to think before clicking links, sharing information or sending money,' he said. Mr Young said scammers could have a devastating impact on people's lives and urged Australians to remain vigilant. 'I would encourage everyone to keep their eyes peeled for scam activity and if you suspect you've been impacted, tell the bank immediately,' he said. 'The earlier we're notified, the sooner we're able to try and help.' Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why millions of Aussies need to be careful at 4pm on Tuesdays: 'Stay alert'
New data has revealed when Australians are most likely to be scammed. Westpac has analysed millions of transaction data points to discover when these criminals try to pounce on unsuspecting people with their "guards down". A poll of more than 6,200 Yahoo Finance readers found 33 per cent have been scammed or were nearly conned out of their money or information in the last 12 months. The Big Four bank's research has determined Tuesday at 4pm is the most frequent time and day when scams have occurred. "People are multitasking and not paying close attention to the signs that something could be a scam. These scammers are opportunistic and take advantage of people when they can,' Westpac's head of fraud prevention, Ben Young, said. RELATED Centrelink issues ATO alert as Aussies submit their tax returns Common neighbour problem plaguing Aussie houses Small business owner faces $80K hit after Meta suspends accounts 'You might receive a suspicious message in the morning, but it's often in the late afternoon, when your guard is down, that you act on it. "That's the window scammers are counting on, and this is why it's so important for people to stay alert and take a moment to think before clicking links, sharing information or sending money.' While 4pm on a Tuesday might be the most common time for a scammer's ploy to strike, Westpac's data found Thursday was the most frequent day of the week that scams occur. It also revealed 80 per cent of scam cases occur from lunchtime onwards, and 85 per cent occur during the work scams are most common at 4pm on Tuesday? Remote access scams are the most common type of con job that occurs on Tuesday afternoons, with 29 per cent happening at this time. This is when a hacker will contact you saying there is an issue with a vital account of yours, like your myGov account, bank account, or even just your computer network. They will try to convince you that you need to grant them access to your device so they can go in and fix the problem, which they might pretend is a virus. They might trick you into buying software to allow them to access your computer or phone, but they can also harvest your important personal information or siphon off your money. The ACCC's National Anti-Scam Centre discovered victims of this scam lost an average of $17,943 in the first quarter of 2024, which was up 57 per cent from average losses in 2023. Westpac also discovered that investment scams (20 per cent), and buying and selling scams (13 per cent) were also rife on Tuesday afternoons. 'These scams are designed to catch people off guard. In particular, remote access scams often involve a sense of urgency or technical confusion, perfectly timed for when people are less focused,' Young said. "We know scams can have a devastating impact on people's lives, so we're constantly monitoring and adapting our protection measures to stay one step ahead and help our customers. 'I would encourage everyone to keep their eyes peeled for scam activity, and if you suspect you've been impacted, tell the bank immediately. The earlier we're notified, the sooner we're able to try and help.' If you do receive a call out of the blue, banks like Westpac and Commonwealth Bank have new AI technology that can help detect whether it's a scam in real-time.
Techday NZ
10-07-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Organisations urged to boost data resilience as AI adoption rises
Industry experts have emphasised the importance of data resilience as organisations accelerate their use of artificial intelligence (AI) across increasingly complex digital environments. The growing implementation of AI technologies has introduced new challenges in data architecture, prompting concerns about whether data security measures are keeping pace with rapid innovation. Adapting data protection for AI Ben Young, Field CTO APJ at Veeam, highlighted the transformative effect of AI on business data systems, stating that these changes demand urgent attention to backup processes and security protocols. On AI Appreciation Day, it is worth pausing to consider not just what AI can do but also the challenges it creates. AI is fundamentally reshaping enterprise data architecture, introducing new and often distributed compute environments, training datasets, and workflows that did not exist even two years ago. But in the rush to innovate, many businesses are forgetting to ask two critical questions: Young elaborated further, asking, "Is any of this backed up? Are the backups protected and secure?" Young referred to the findings of Veeam's 2025 Ransomware Trends and Proactive Strategies Report, which revealed that nine out of ten organisations globally had their backup repositories targeted by threat actors in the past year. He stated this points to a clear need for backups that are both secure and immutable. "This means data not only needs to be backed up; those backups need to be secure and immutable to ensure full protection," he said. Young also observed that many organisations are moving AI training workloads to the public cloud without proportionate data protection strategies. He cautioned that a reliance on as-a-service infrastructure could create a false sense of security against increasingly sophisticated threats. "At Veeam, we see organisations deploying AI training workloads in the public cloud, sometimes for the first time, without mature data protection strategies in place." "There is an assumption that as-a-service infrastructure is inherently secure, but in reality, protecting AI requires consideration of an increasingly complex data environment. That means safeguarding model outputs, ensuring rapid restore capabilities, and maintaining visibility into where data is stored, especially as markets in APJ develop strict data sovereignty regulations," Young added. "AI may be intelligent, but resilience still requires human foresight. Innovation without protection is a risk no enterprise can afford to take." AI as a resilience enabler David Allott, Field CISO APJ at Veeam, presented a complementary perspective, suggesting that recent debates tend to focus heavily on AI's threats while overlooking how AI can advance data resilience and cyber protection. On AI Appreciation Day, most conversations focus on the risks AI introduces. But in cybersecurity, we are overlooking a bigger opportunity: AI is also helping us rethink how we defend and recover. Allott described how AI is changing the way organisations manage data security, helping businesses move from reactive defence to more proactive approaches. He said, "AI is enabling security leaders across APJ move from reactive defence to proactive resilience. At Veeam, we are integrating AI to help businesses better understand and protect their data. It is not just about knowing where it is stored, but understanding what it contains, who has access, and whether it is subject to compliance issues or exfiltration risk." He addressed the visibility challenges faced by companies operating hybrid-cloud and mixed infrastructure systems, and outlined AI's role in resolving these complexities. "As companies adopt hybrid-cloud models and operate across legacy and modern infrastructure, this visibility becomes harder to achieve. AI cuts through the complexity by identifying anomalies faster, identifying misconfigurations before they become vulnerabilities, and aligning backup strategies with actual data value." Allott cautioned that while AI is not a solution to all security issues, it provides significant context and operational insight. "While AI is not a silver bullet for security, it is a tool that delivers clarity and context on how to be more resilient. For example, Veeam enables AI directly into platforms to assist with threat diagnostics and intelligent support for backup admins. Tools like VeeamONE deliver AI-powered threat detection, while Recon Scanner (a feature of Veeam Data Platform) helps identify risks before they escalate. This ensures organisations can protect the right data in the right way before threats emerge." Industry observers point out that as enterprises in the Asia-Pacific and Japan region continue to integrate AI technologies, the focus on robust backup, security, and compliance strategies will only grow in significance.
