Refunds for scam victims ‘under threat’ following changes to vital scheme
Scam victims could find it harder to get their money back from their bank following changes to a vital fraud refund scheme.
Under rules set out by a voluntary code of conduct launched in May 2019, banks must reimburse blameless customers tricked into transferring money to crooks.
Firms which fail to prevent the customer’s losses are responsible for providing the refund.
Under rules set out by a voluntary code of conduct launched in May 2019, banks must reimburse blameless customers tricked into transferring money to crooks
If both the customer’s and fraudster’s provider fail to meet the standard, they split the cost of reimbursing the customer.
In a ‘no-blame’ scenario, when all parties did all they could, the refund was paid from a central pot of money.
But as of last Friday, the nine providers who signed up to the code will be responsible for repaying their own defrauded customers.
Experts warn it could lead to more innocent fraud victims being denied refunds. Richard Emery, from fraud consultancy 4Keys International, says: ‘If banks are footing the bill for no-blame cases, there is a real risk of them pushing the responsibility on to customers.’
Trade body UK Finance denies the changes will impact customer reimbursement.