Gardener conned out of £10k in bank transfer scam by fraudsters impersonating HMRC
David Hunt says he feels embarrassed and let down by the banks after crooks conned him out of nearly £10,000 in a payment transfer scam - the day his mother-in-law died
LANDSCAPE gardener David Hunt says he feels embarrassed and let down by the banks after crooks conned him out of nearly £10,000 in a payment transfer scam, the day his mother-in-law died.
The 61-year-old, who lives near Chichester in West Sussex, was caught out by a scam back in April this year and his bank Natwest has only been able to recover £422 of the £9,690 lost.
A new code of practice to better protect victims of push payment fraud is due to be announced this Friday by the payment watchdog, following the revelation that scammers are conning people out of nearly £1million a day.
It's believed this will see customers given timely warnings if banks notice suspicious activity with banks having to refund victims if they fail to meet the minimum standards.
David said: "I feel stupid, embarrassed, and let down by a system that seems to have no will to bring crooks to justice, therefore encouraging them."
How to protect yourself from fraudsters
Action Fraud recommends taking the following advice to stay safe:
- When making a purchase, be suspicious of any requests to pay by bank transfer or virtual currency instead of safer methods, such as credit card or payment services such as PayPal.
- Listen to your instincts: If something feels wrong then it is usually right to question it. Don’t pay for goods or services unless you know and trust the individual or business.
- Personal information obtained from data breaches is making it increasingly easier for fraudsters to create highly targeted phishing messages and calls - watch out for these.
- You shouldn’t assume the caller is genuine just because they’re able to provide some basic details about you.
- Always be suspicious of unsolicited requests for your personal or financial information.
Last April he was contacted by a scammer claiming to be from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) who told David that his recently filed self-assessment tax return had been sent to the wrong bank account.
David, a self-employed landscape gardener, said the fraudster knew his name, which lead to him believing the call was genuine.
He also recalled that he had paid different HMRC bank accounts in the past, which backed up the fraudster's story.
But two days later, when no refund of the original payment had been received by David, alarm bells began ring.
He immediately rang HMRC and contacted his bank.
But by that time, NatWest said it was only able to recover £422 from the fraudster's bank, which was with Barclays.
David said: "I got caught by the scam the day my mother in law died.
"I was initially unsure but I thought that no-one would risk prosecution and the money could easily be recovered as I had the person's bank details.
"But it seems the scammers knew that no-one would do anything about it."
Sadly, David isn't the first person to be caught out by such a scam.
The Sun has previously reported how a grandmother had her £40,000 life savings stolen by scammers pretending to be NatWest.
Meanwhile new figures published this week by trade body UK Finance reveal that nearly £1million has been lost to victims of bank transfer scams EVERY DAY in the first six months of this year.
And the problem is that banks don't seem to be doing enough to help.
UK Finance's data showed that just £31million of £145.4million lost in transfers to crooks in the first half of 2018 has been refunded.
Consumer group Which? submitted a so-called "super complaint" to the regulator in 2016 over concerns that bank transfer victims are not given enough protection.
How to get your money back after a scam
WHETHER you can get your money back after you've become a scam victim depends on how you made the payment.
Paid using a credit card
If you paid for something on your credit card that cost between £100 and £30,000 and it turns out that it was never available or the seller disappears, then you are protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
This rules that the credit card company is jointly liable when things go wrong so they have to refund you.
Paid by debit card
You might be able to get the money back through the Chargeback scheme, although unlike Section 75 this is a voluntary scheme and not law.
You'll need to write to your bank explaining what happened and ask for a refund although the exact rules might very between American Express, Maestro and Visa cards.
Bank transfer
If funds have been transferred from your account without your authorisation then the bank is obliged to refund the costs.
If you've fallen for a scam and handed over security details or you've transferred cash to fraudsters then the bank doesn't not have to give your money back if it feels there was "gross negligence" on your part.
But if you feel the bank's refusal is unjust then you are entitled to complain to the bank or report the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service. But be aware that this process can take weeks.
Paid with PayPal
You should be covered by PayPal Buyer Protection if payments have been made from your account without your consent, or if the goods are from a bogus seller.
You're not protected if you handed over your details by filling out a fake PayPal payment page.
Using a money transfer wire service
Unfortuntely, if you made payments through a service like MoneyGram, PayPoint or Western Union then you won't be able to get your money back.
Complaints body, the Financial Ombudsman Service, has also been equally damning of banks' seeming reluctance to not only help victims of this type of fraud, but also to blame them.
Caroline Wayman, chief ombudsman and chief executive of the Financial Ombudsman Service, said: “It’s not fair to automatically call a customer grossly negligent simply because they’ve fallen for a scam.
"That’s especially true in light of the sophisticated way criminals exploit banks’ security systems – and convince customers that their money is at risk."
When The Sun Online contacted David's bank NatWest, it told us there was nothing more it could do and that it had contacted the fraudster's bank as soon as they heard from David.
A spokesperson said: "We sympathise with our customer who has been the victim of a scam and appreciate that this has been a very distressing experience for him.
“We take our responsibilities to preventing scams very seriously and would remind customers to remain vigilant against any type of scam.”
When The Sun took David's case to Barclays, we received a similar response.
A Barclays spokesperson said: "As soon as this matter was brought to our attention, we acted swiftly in order to recover any funds that remained in the account.
"Regrettably by the time we were made aware of the fraud, only £422.26 remained in the account to be returned to Mr Hunt. The account has since been closed."
When The Sun pushed Barclays on why it couldn't do more considering it knew the account holders details, it told us: "Appropriate documentation was presented when the account was opened in 2012 and Barclays had no way of knowing that the account would be used as a mule for fraudulent purposes."
A HMRC spokesperson told The Sun: “If a customer makes a payment to an incorrect HMRC bank account in error, HMRC will not ask the customer to make a further payment to the correct bank account.
“HMRC will arrange to have the customer’s payment transferred to the correct account and update the customer’s record.”
More on scams and fraud
The spokesperson added: “HMRC will call people about outstanding tax bills, and sometimes use automated messages, but it would include your taxpayer reference number.”
David also reported his case to national crime reporting agency Action Fraud.
But it told us that his case wasn't passed onto a crime reviewer as it didn't meet the organisation's investigation threshold, which covers factors such as whether the case is linked to other complaints the body has received.
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