New Zealand's new 'anti-scam czar' gets to work
Millions of dollars are lost to scams each year. Should more attention be on the social media giants that platform them?
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Tuesday, November 19.
In today’s edition: Wellington is ready to welcome as many as 30,000 protesters to the forecourt of parliament, it’s been 14 years since 29 men lost their lives in Pike River, and police minister pleased with latest crime statistics. But first: Andrew Bayly readies to take on the scam marketplace.
‘What are the gaps now?’
It was only a month ago that Andrew Bayly’s career as a politician was on the line. Now, he’s been tasked with a major new governmental role: anti-scam czar. As reported by the Herald’s Chris Keall (paywalled), the consumer affairs minister will take charge of the government’s efforts to tackle scams, a role that was previously split across six ministers including Judith Collins as GCSB minister and Brooke van Velden as internal affairs minister. He’s set to convene a top level meeting of bosses from across the telecommunications and banking sectors early next month. “I’m going to get them all in the same room and the discussion will be around, ‘What are the gaps now?’”
Some of this work is already under way. Banks are currently rolling out payee confirmation, which Bayly told RNZ was a good start. "But also, I think it's incumbent on the government to act and coordinate activity," he said. And while a lot of the focus appears to be on the banking sector, some have argued social media giants – those that often platform scams – deserve greater scrutiny.
Minister for big tech
The Spinoff’s Duncan Greive wrote substantively on this subject yesterday morning, arguing that New Zealand deserved a standalone minister for “big tech”. The column was published before the news of Bayly’s role was revealed. Reflecting on an interview with Bayly, Greive noted that the man now charged with tackling a scam epidemic has spent much of the year going after big banks, but sounded “like a total supplicant when talking about Facebook”.
Here’s Duncan:
“We want to make sure that they are a part of the mix,” [Bayly] told me. “The unfortunate thing is, [Meta is] obviously a global company, and New Zealand’s a very small part of that pie… The issue with the social media platforms is, how do you get them to engage and concern themselves about New Zealand?”
As Greive noted, it’s undoubtedly complex. But New Zealand is now lagging behind other countries when it comes to substantively dealing with large tech companies. In a wide-ranging cover story also published yesterday, Greive questioned why media coverage tended to focus on banks and victims rather than the social media platforms that run the scams in the first place. And banks agree more should be done. “For a company that’s amongst the most valuable in the world, with an absolute black belt in creating algorithms that drive behaviour, I cannot for life of me understand how Meta wouldn’t be able to be amongst the most effective at blocking this type of thing,” said Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich.
The scale of the problem
The backstory here is well traversed, with frequent media reports on the proliferation of scams. Writing for The Spinoff in August, Dylan Reeve presented what he described as a “soul-destroying” attempt to report ads on Facebook that were actually scams, including those that purported to be from high profile figures like Clarke Gayford. There have been other well reported stories. The Herald’s Lane Nichols reported recently on a pensioner that fell victim to a deepfake Christopher Luxon, losing over $224,000 in the process.
The reporting by Reeve and others highlights the obvious danger from scams – something that most of us will have encountered and, at this point, probably begrudgingly accept as part and parcel of being on social media. But while they may, to some, look obviously fake – they are clearly working. Bayly, speaking to The Post, described it as the “third largest economy in the world”.
There are questions over the exact scale of the problem here in New Zealand. The most widely reported figure, from PaymentsNZ, suggests we lost nearly $200m to scams in the past 12 months. Bayly said the real losses are likely to be higher given not all scams are reported. And Netsafe has claimed the problem could be more like $2.3bn, based on a survey of over 1,000 people.
Pressure mounts on Kiwisaver providers
Moving away from scams now but sticking with banks. The Spinoff’s Gabi Lardies has reported on a new campaign targeting ASB due to its Kiwisaver funds having investments in Motorola, a company that supplies Israel’s military. Six thousand people have signed a petition threatening to switch banks should ASB not divest.
In a written statement to The Spinoff, ASB said the weight of the investments across its Kiwisaver funds ranges from 0.04% to 0.19% of net asset value – around 0.1% of its total Kiwisaver investments. The statement also noted that ASB is “closely following” and “deeply concerned” by the ongoing conflict. Over three million New Zealanders have Kiwisavers across 350 funds.
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The day the hīkoi arrives on the steps of parliament
Wellington is ready to welcome as many as 30,000 protesters to the forecourt of parliament today as a nationwide hīkoi makes its final trek. As the Herald’s Jamie Ensor reported, there will be a significant security presence around the capital for what is expected to be one of the largest local protests in history. Some opposition MPs are set to join the hīkoi, while a group of National MPs will meet the group at parliament. Prime minister Christopher Luxon, freshly back from Apec, has not confirmed if he will be among them and nor has Act leader David Seymour.
The Post’s Luke Malpass believes today’s events provide political opportunity for the two parties on opposite sides of the debate, Act and Te Pāti Māori, arguing that the it’s the two biggest parliamentary parties that risk losing support. “Both [National and Labour] will be hoping that the select committee stage passes without too much drama so the thing can be voted down and the largely bipartisan approach to the Treaty will continue,” he writes. According to Politik’s Richard Harman (paywalled), senior members of both National and New Zealand First want a shorter select committee process.
Meanwhile, Madeleine Chapman looks at recent criticism over those working in journalism publicly sharing their support for the hīkoi, arguing that it’s entirely possible to be able to voice an opinion in a personal capacity while remaining impartial in a work context.
No one is impartial. We all have a position on everything. Some might say they don’t, but that means their position is to not deem the issue worthy of a position. “Having no position” has been the standard for news media for as long as it has existed. Impartiality, neutrality. Political reporters like Guyon Espiner and Duncan Garner will say they don’t vote, as if by not participating in democracy they have somehow wiped their brain of thoughts. It’s all a farce.
Check back on The Spinoff later this morning for a live blog and we’ll dissect the day’s events in tomorrow’s Bulletin.
Police still working through Pike River evidence 14 years after tragedy
It’s been 14 years since 29 men lost their lives in Pike River and time is ticking for a decision over possible charges. As The Press reported, police are now working with the Crown solicitor on the issue, with decisions on prosecution bumped into 2025. Police have spent $22.9m on the investigation since it had reopened in 2018. “The matter is legally complex, and at this point police expect to have a decision around prosecution(s) in the first half of next year.”
Carol Rose, the mother of one of the men who died, said she was comfortable with the latest delay given it had already taken 14 years to get to this point. “For us the more thorough they can be and more in-depth the investigation has gone, the better the chance of a prosecution,” she said.
Listen: One man stares into the abyss
It’s a throwback monopod on The Fold – Duncan Greive goes solo in a pretty raw episode, reflecting on a wonderful event with a very sobering reflection on the present and likely future of institutional media in Aotearoa. It’s a look at what’s driving the cataclysmic events of this year, and whether they’re likely to be temporary, or are baked in. And finally, why it is that the political response here seems so softly softly, when other countries are making serious attempts to defend their culture, media and journalism.
Click and Collect
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The Treaty Principles Bill has been handed over to 11 MPs to lead a six-month process which, if other controversial laws are anything to go by, could attract tens of thousands of submissions.
Why Mark Mitchell won't resign one year after becoming police minister.
For his latest Windbag column, Joel MacManus argues it’s time to say goodbye to Wellington’s City to Sea Bridge. Glenn Banks asks what we can expect from an expanded mining industry. What to watch on Netflix NZ, Neon and more this week. In the latest of our Pacific Profiles series, Litia Tuiburelevu meets the Southside Aiga Midwives, who serve whānau in the heart of Māngere.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and see you back here tomorrow morning.
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If they are that "deeply concerned" they should divest.
Around 0.1% of its total Kiwisaver funds? Then there should be no problem in divesting surely? Why the lack of action?