Fraud victims are given power to chase banks

FRAUD victims duped into transferring life savings to a conman’s account will be able to claim compensation from the bank that received the cash.

In a victory for Money Mail’s Pay Back Fraud Victims campaign, new rules from the City watchdog should help protect the thousands who fall victim to bank transfer scams each year.

Often, a criminal posing as a bank worker persuades victims to transfer cash to their account.

Last year, there were 44,000 reports of the scam — with losses totalling £236 million.

Just a quarter of this was refunded by the banks. Currently, victims can complain to their own bank and request a refund, but are frequently refused, as banks argue they have been negligent.

Under the shake-up, victims can complain to the criminal’s bank if they believe it has failed to do enough to stop fraudsters making off with cash, or failed to freeze an account when alerted to a scam.

Savers will be able to take complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which can order a bank to pay compensation.

The final rules are expected to come into force at the start of next year.