Former eSafety chief argues Meta should face criminal charges for illicit bank account trade
The social media giant won’t act on removing thousands of groups facilitating the trade of bank accounts, frustrating both big banks and law enforcement.
Meta’s refusal to curb the illegal trade of bank accounts on Facebook could amount to criminal conspiracy, a former Turnbull government cybersecurity adviser has warned, as the tech giant’s inaction frustrates financial crime fighters.
CyberCX chief strategy officer Alastair MacGibbon, who served as Australia’s inaugural eSafety Commissioner, said the country needs a bigger stick to compel social media companies such as Meta to act against their platforms being used to buy and sell ‘mule’ accounts — legitimate bank accounts exploited to profit from crime.
“Social media companies should be included in criminal conspiracy charges when they don’t take appropriate action,” MacGibbon told Capital Brief. “There should be some form of litigation and some form of regulation that expects them to not allow their systems to be used for the facilitation of crime.”
An analysis by the Commonwealth Bank found Facebook was hosting more than 1,800 groups actively trading Australian bank accounts. The brisk public trade online has frustrated Australia’s big four banks, which have repeatedly reported the groups to Meta.
