Tougher rules on way to prevent crime

THE Payment Systems Regulator is looking to boost the protection available to the likes of Jean who are victims of authorised push payment scams.

In the first six months of last year, consumers lost £208 million to such scams. Chris Hemsley, PSR boss, now wants it made harder for such crimes to take place – and he wants victims properly protected.

Proposals include making the banks disclose their individual data on push payment scams.

This would require banks to show what proportion of scammed funds they refunded to customers – and the amount they were able to retrieve from the fraudsters’ accounts. This data, argues the PSR, would prompt banks to raise their game to avoid being labelled weak on financial crime.

The regulator for payment systems i s also considering whether banks should be compelled to share more data on scams so they can stamp down on financial crime more qui c kl y. If you think you’ve been scammed, you should call your bank or card provider immediately. Tell them what happened and let them know the bank account number your money was sent to.

The bank might be able to either stop the transaction or recover your money from the fraudster’s account.

You should also contact the bank where your money was sent. It may be able to halt the payment.