SUPPORT FOR VICTIMS OF TRANSFER SCAMS IS ‘JUST A LOTTERY’

PEOPLE tricked into transferring money to a fraudster must be given similar protection to those whose money is stolen from an account without their knowledge, Which? said today.

The consumer group said the way banks apply a voluntary reimbursement code is “riddled with chronic problems” and victims are not getting the safeguards they need.

Which? said the Payment

Systems Regulator should be armed with powers to force all firms to reimburse customers who acted appropriately.

This would give protection similar to cases of identity theft.

Which? said: “This would abolish the reimbursement lottery that leaves a victim’s chances of getting their money back dependent on where they bank.” It

added that more than £700,000 is lost to bank transfer scams every day with less than half of the money returned as banks often blame customers.

The group said one Nationwide customer was initially denied reimbursement for £53,500 after failing to spot that a fraudster had changed just one digit of a solicitor’s email address, tricking them into sending money to their account instead.