What can you do if your bank refuses to reimburse you following a Push Payment Scam?
A push payment scam happens when a cybercriminal tricks someone into sending them money online. And it's more common than you might think. In fact, in 2017, UK bank customers lost more than £236m due to push-payment scams.
In most cases, the push payment scam is successful because the victim believes the fraudster to be genuine. For example, scammers often call people up claiming to be the police or the bank. They might state that someone isatrisk of a security threat, and that they are calling to help stop it. In other cases, an email with an address that looks genuine could request payment (e.g. from a solicitor or tradesperson).
The money lost due to push payment scams can be devastating. For example, a mother and daughter In Kent were tricked out of their life savings after unknowingly transferring £113,665 to a criminal, rather than their solicitor.
Another woman was conned into losing her mother's care-home fees after a criminal claiming to be from her bank's fraud team flagged up unusual transactions on her bank account. The fraudsters ran through some security questions and extracted the information they needed to access her account and rename her current account "frozen". When the woman went to check online, it did appear that her account had been locked. She was then asked to move her balance to a new "protected" account. However, when she called her bank to check the transfer had gone through, they knew nothing about it.
Historically, banks and other organisations have avoided paying push payment scam compensation to victims. And, because payments have been authorised by the customer, there has been little chance of redress.
So, can you get compensation for a push payment scam?
If you have been the victim of a push payment scam and need help getting your money back, there is some good news.
The industry has recently introduced stronger protections to help victims of push payment scams to secure compensation. It has also set out a new industry code designed to minimise the number of scams by encouraging consumers to remain vigilant.
What this means is that you can be confident that any claim for reimbursement will be given fairer and quicker consideration. And that your bank (or another financial provider) can only refuse to reimburse stolen funds where you have shown a very significant degree of carelessness. Crucially, banks should not automatically blame the victims of increasingly sophisticated scams and must take a fairer approach to compensation.
Where a bank still refuses compensation, you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
If you want to claim compensation following a push payment scam, Hayes Connor can help. Our professional, friendly team will be pleased to answer any questions you might have, and advise you on whether you have a valid claim.
If you have a straightforward push payment scam case,our quick claims formwill help you to start this quickly and easily. This means you receive your compensation in the shortest possible time. However, if we believe you have a large, complex case, we'll go through your options and may be able to act for you on a NO WIN, NO FEE basis.
At Hayes Connor Solicitors we make sure you receive the maximum compensation possible in the shortest possible time. However, with strict time limits in place for making push payment fraud compensation claims, it's essential to act now.
We are also considering agroup action claimagainst banks who have failed their clients after they have lost money through no fault of their own. A group action is where a group of people, all affected by the same issue, collectively bring their cases to court. Group actions can be a powerful tool and can have a bigger impact than a single claim.