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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) today unveiled a new weapon in the fight against scams: a fleet of thousands of AI-powered bot profiles, deployed by Apate.ai – a cyber-intelligence firm and spin-out from Macquarie University. These AI-bots are engineered to engage scammers, gather critical intelligence and disrupt scam operations – with near real-time scam intelligence harnessed by CommBank to safeguard both our customers and the wider Australian community.

“This is about flipping the script,” said James Roberts, CommBank’s General Manager of Group Fraud. “Scammers are increasingly using AI to target Australians – we’re turning the tables by using AI to fight back. Every minute a scammer is engaging with a bot, is a minute they're not targeting an Australian. The near real-time intelligence being gathered is a game-changer in how we help to protect our customers and the broader community.”

Every day, Apate.ai deploys thousands of conversational AI bots to disrupt scammers targeting unsuspecting Australians, via text-based conversations and voice calls. This expanded and increasingly sophisticated bot network follows a successful pilot program announced by Macquarie University in late 2024.

When a scammer calls or texts, sophisticated bots engage them in extended conversations, gather intelligence, and feed near real-time insights directly into CommBank’s scam control systems and the broader cross-sector anti-scam ecosystem.

“We’re on a mission to dismantle the business models of scammers around the world. Our bots share near real-time intelligence to our partners like CommBank to fight scams, helping to shield consumers and businesses and making it harder for scammers to operate,” said Professor Dali Kaafar, CEO & Founder of Apate.ai.

“Our system is based on a “Honeypot” strategy. In collaboration with our telco partners, Apate.ai operates a vast and constantly growing network of dedicated telephone numbers connected to the telcos networks and designed specifically to be discovered and targeted by scammers. When a scammer dials or messages one of these numbers, they actually engage in conversations with one of our AI-powered bots and not a person,” Professor Kaafar added.

Mr Roberts emphasised that protecting Australians from scams requires a united, cross-sector approach.

“At CommBank, we’re focused on investing in innovative technologies to help combat scams and strengthen Australia’s broader anti-scam ecosystem. Our initiatives focus on enhancing cybersecurity, raising public awareness, and collaborating with industry leaders to build a safer digital environment for all Australians.”

Phone and text scams remain Australia’s biggest threat

In 2024, phone scams accounted for the highest overall financial losses and were more likely to result in significant individual losses, according to National Anti-Scams Centre data about contact methods used by scammers.1

During the same period, text messages were the second most common contact method used by scammers, with investment scams responsible for the highest losses via this channel.2

Intelligence in action

CommBank is using intelligence gathered by Apate.ai in near real-time to help protect our customers and the broader Australian community.

This intelligence helps CommBank to identify emerging scam trends, enhance the Bank’s scam detection capabilities, and support coordinated efforts across the industry to disrupt scam operations.

“While we don’t share specific methods, this collaboration strengthens our ability to respond quickly and effectively to evolving threats,” said Mr Roberts.

“This collaboration demonstrates how AI can be used for safety and security,” Professor Kaafar added.

“We’ve designed our bots to be difficult to detect by scammers, making them incredibly effective at gathering intelligence and disrupting scam operations. The bots are uniquely crafted with diverse identities – varying in gender, age, tone, and cultural nuance – and fine-tuned with Australian slang and humour to improve realism,” Professor Kaafar added.

“Since the pilot program was announced late 2024, it has expanded in both scale and sophistication,” Mr Roberts said. “This has seen hundreds of thousands of scam calls diverted to bots, with intelligence gathered helping to generate near real-time alerts and blocks to protect CommBank customers.

“This AI-powered intelligence loop helps us identify emerging threats and continuously improve our nation’s defences,” Mr Roberts added.

“In the fight against scams, timing is everything. Our intelligence gives organisations like CBA the edge, not just to detect scams, but to anticipate and block it before it reaches customers,” said Professor Kaafar.

As cybercriminals increasingly leverage AI to refine their tactics, CommBank is focused on harnessing cutting-edge, AI-driven security measures to help detect and prevent scams – further strengthening protections for customers.

A national challenge, a cross-industry response

CommBank’s initiative forms part of a broader, cross-industry effort to make Australia a more difficult target for scammers. The Bank is working closely with telecommunication providers, big tech, and government agencies to share intelligence and coordinate responses.

“We know no single organisation or sector can solve this alone,” Mr Roberts said. “That’s why it is so important to collaborate across sectors to disrupt scam operations at scale.”

“This cross-industry collaboration underscores CommBank's focus to working with industry leaders and academic institutions to develop innovative solutions that help to protect our customers,” Mr Roberts added. “By combining expertise from across sectors, we aim to build a robust defence against scams and strengthen Australia’s overall cyber-security landscape. This is just one example of how we’re harnessing AI to help protect our customers and Australians.”

About Apate.ai

Apate.ai is an AI-powered intelligence platform that seeks to detect, disrupt, and dismantle scam operations through real-time engagement. Headquartered in Sydney, the company is a spin-out of Macquarie University’s Cyber Security Hub and partners with major institutions to proactively defend against fraud at scale.

James Roberts audio grabs for media

1 https://www.nasc.gov.au/system/files/targeting-scams-report-2024.pdf

2 https://www.nasc.gov.au/scam-statistics

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