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Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones revealed the incident in a speech to the National Press Club on Labor’s measures to fight scammers.
The federal Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services has outlined a scam aimed at taking advantage of the death of a beloved Labor MP and her funeral in late 2023.
Minister Jones outlined the scam during a presentation to the National Press Club in Canberra on 31 July during a speech outlining the steps the Albanese government was taking to fight scammers and protect Australian citizens.
Peta Murphy, the federal member for Dunkley, died on 4 December 2023 after a long battle with breast cancer. The popular MP was widely mourned by her colleagues and praised for her work on a landmark report on gambling reform delivered in June of the same year.
“There was a big funeral – a lot of people could not get there, so the answer,” Minister Jones told the Press Club today, “was establishing a video connection into the funeral”.
However, scammers set up a Facebook page and charged people to attend a remote service – which was, of course, all a fake.
“That’s an insight into the morality of the people we are dealing with,” Minister Jones said.
“It angers me that people can be taken advantage of in a moment of vulnerability. I’m sure you all feel the same. Australians, however, don’t want the government just to do nothing; they want us to turn that anger into action.”
Minister Jones also outlined Labor’s plan to force banks to compensate the victims of scams.
“A fundamental characteristic of scams is that they are transactions that are authorised – through deception – by the victim, so the law is not fit for purpose,” Jones said, according to a copy of the speech seen by The Guardian.
“We will address this to ensure victims can receive compensation in the right circumstances. Compensation for inaction, for negligence, for failing to meet an obligation is a critical part of our framework.”
Minister Jones also took aim at digital platforms that allow scammers to operate on their infrastructure.
“Digital platforms have a moral obligation to join the fight as part of their social licence,” he said.
“These are trillion-dollar corporations. They can afford to invest in a significant uplift to keep consumers safe. It’s really time for them to get on the side of consumers.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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