AT LAST! BANKS TO PAY FRAUD VICTIMS

BANKS have finally agreed to refund victims of sophisticated frauds. They had been refusing to pay compensation in cases where neither they nor the customer was to blame. But now a coalition of banks has agreed to pay into a fund that will ensure no genuine victim is left out of pocket. It is a major victory for MoneyMail’s Stop the Bank Scammers campaign, which had called on banks to pay up.

Around £1million a day is stolen through ‘authorised push payment fraud’, where customers are tricked into switching money into accounts controlled by criminals.

The scammers can pose as bank staff, solicitors, police officers and even tax inspectors.

Before their U-turn, banks had argued they should not pay out

because the transactions were authorised by customers. Stephen Jones, head of trade body UK Finance, now says they will offer compensation when the loss is neither side’s fault.

He told MPs on the Treasury committee the new fund was an interim measure until a permanent solution could be agreed with banking watchdogs.

It is hoped that the interim compensation scheme will be in force by the end of the year. Banks are considering ways of funding it, possibly with a levy on transactions. They will have to put in place security measures to ensure guaranteed compensation does not lead to higher levels of fraud.

Nicky Morgan, the Tory MP who chairs the Treasury committee, said: ‘It is encouraging to hear that banks on the steering group, which includes Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS, have committed to fund an initial contribution to reimburse consumers in such cases.

‘It is also encouraging to hear that those not on the steering group, including Santander and Nationwide, have made the same commitment.’

The most recent figures from UK Finance show that £145million was lost to the push payment fraud in the first six months of last year.

The figure could be much higher because it is thought some victims may be too ashamed to come forward.

Gareth Shaw, head of money at consumer experts Which?, said: ‘This long-awaited move to ensure victims of bank transfer scams are properly reimbursed when neither they nor the bank is at fault is a major victory for consumers.

‘The banks must now act to ensure this scheme is implemented as swiftly as possible so consumers can have confidence that losing life-changing sums of money

Were you a victim? Email fraud@dailymail.co.uk

to this type of fraud is a thing of the past.’

A Lloyds spokesman said: ‘We have committed to provide initial funding to the new scheme, ensuring that victims receive the right amount of protection while the longerterm funding structure is put in place.’

A Santander spokesman said: ‘We are fully supportive of finding a solution to the issue of “no blame” funding. We are committed to playing our part in funding the establishment of a reimbursement pot.’

In February last year a steer- ing group of banks and consumer representatives was set up by the Payment Systems Regulator after Which? raised a ‘super-complaint’ about the lack of protection for customers who are caught by push payment scams.

The group agreed that victims should be refunded when neither the bank nor the customer had done anything wrong. But they were unable to reach a decision on who should foot the bill.

Banks claimed that it would not be fair for them to be held financially responsible – particularly if the scams were a result of data breaches in other sectors such as telecoms and retail.

A spokesman for the steering group said last night: ‘The group has worked on the principle that where a victim of an authorised push payment scam has met their requisite level of care they should be reimbursed, and it is finalising the mechanism for this to take place.’

A timeline for the launch of a new voluntary code of conduct on how banks deal with fraud victims is expected to be published at the end of the month.

It will outline the minimum standards that customers are required to meet to be found blameless for the fraud.

If they are found to have been negligent or reckless, banks will not have to pay.

Earlier this week it emerged that a new security check that would see money transfers blocked if the recipient’s name and account number did not match has been delayed, possibly until next year.

It was supposed to come into operation by this July.

Additional reporting: Amelia Murray