Fraud victims told it’s their fault by banks refusing refund

BANKS are blaming customers for falling victim to fraud and are refusing to refund money in more than a third of cases, a study has shown.

Research by the consumer group Which? found nearly four in 10 victims of “transfer fraud” (37 per cent) did not get any money back from their bank.

By refusing to offer a refund, the banks are neglecting to admit their own failings and are pushing the blame on to customers, Which? said.

Common scams involve fraudsters convincing people to pay for fake goods, services and investments by transferring a sum into their bank account which is then withdrawn in cash.

According to the survey, 6 per cent of victims lost more than £10,000, 41 per cent lost between £1,001 and £10,000 and 50 per cent lost up to £1,000.

In September last year Which? made a super-complaint to regulators calling on banks to do more to protect their customers. A spokesman for the Payment Systems Regulator said there was no “quick fix” to the problem.

A spokesman for Financial Fraud Action UK, which represents the UK payments industry in matters of fraud, said it had agreed “a clear action plan with the regulator”, which it was pursuing.

“We are exploring new ways to track stolen funds moved between multiple bank accounts. We are also running our largest ever fraud awareness campaign,” the spokesman said.