Approximately 600,000 Australians suffered from financial abuse in 2020, causing the victims and the economy to lose $5.7 billion (US$4.1 billion) and $5.2 billion, respectively, Deloitte research has found. Over 400,000 women and nearly 200,000 men in Australia have experienced financial abuse. Additionally, the cumulative adverse effect of people being impeded from working themselves and those who later need support from government and social services comes with a heavy price tag of more than $10 billion a year for the economy and the victims. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), which commissioned Deloitte to conduct the research, tracked down tens of thousands of tiny transactions with value as little as one cent during a three-month period and found the messages accompanying those transactions disturbing. CBA’s artificial intelligence detected around 100,000 transactions with abusive languages over three months, and narrowed them down to find out 200 individuals potentially committing serious abuses. …