More people than ever being targeted by banking fraudsters – here’s how to protect yourself
Which? research shows that 80 per cent of people think that banks should be responsible for recouping money lost to bank transfer scams
BANKS aren't doing enough to protect their customers against fraud, new research suggests.
Consumer group Which? found that people are still losing money to bank scams, and said it has not yet seen enough evidence to show that the industry is making progress in protecting customers.
Despite the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) five months ago revealing that banks could be doing more to protect consumers, Brits are still being left exposed to fraudsters who con them into transferring large amounts of cash.
According to Which? research, more than one in 10 people in the UK had mistakenly made a bank transfer, or knew someone who had, to a fraudster.
Of those people who had lost money to bank transfer scams, more than half had been victims in the past six months.
Nearly four in 10 people who had transferred cash to a crook didn't get any of their money back.
In September 2016, Which? made the first super-complaint to the financial regulator, calling on the industry to do more to better protect its customers from bank transfer scams.
The consumer body is now urging the next government to take tough action on financial fraud, and is also today writing to banks calling for them to clearly outline what action they are taking to safeguard consumers from bank transfer scams.
Which?'s research shows that 80 per cent of people think that banks should be responsible for recouping money lost to bank transfer scams.
Gareth Shaw, money expert at Which?, said: “Despite the fact that consumers are still losing life-changing sums of money to fraudsters it’s not clear what meaningful action the banks have taken to protect their customers.
“People assume that banks will look after them and their money.
"So it's vital that the industry, regulator and next government act quickly and decisively to tackle financial fraud. Failure to do so will continue to leave consumers paying the price.”
Top tips to protect yourself from scams
- NEVER give out personal or financial information on the phone or by email. Your bank, the police or any other organisation will never ask you for these in full.
- Never allow someone remote access to your computer following a cold call
- Don’t rely on caller ID – numbers can be spoofed by fraudsters to make it look like they’re calling from a trusted number
- Your bank, the police or any other company, will never call to ask you to transfer your money out of your account for security reasons
- Be wary of all cold calls claiming to be from banks, police, or other trusted organisations – if you have any concerns, call back on an independently verified number.
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