Banks let scam accounts receive cash EIGHT weeks after first victim warns about fraud

BANKS have been failing to block payments made to scam accounts a whopping EIGHT weeks after fraud has been first reported.

HSBC and NatWest both allowed cash to be transferred from their accounts into those being run by conmen.

This is despite customers reportedly warning the banks about these dodgy accounts two months earlier.

The news has come to light following an , which made a number of £1 payments to bank accounts its readers had flagged as being operated by fraudsters.

While payments from Lloyds Bank and Santander were blocked, both HSBC and NatWest allowed transactions to go ahead.

Gareth Shaw, head of money at consumer group Which?, says it's "alarming" that banks aren't doing more to protect their users.

He said: "It’s alarming that banks have neglected to do even the bare minimum by failing to stop payments to accounts used by scammers months after victims reported them as fraudulent.

"This worrying inaction could have left people vulnerable to falling victim and allowed fraudsters to easily re-offend."

Bank transfer fraud has more than doubled in the past year but victims only get 20 per cent of what is stolen by fraudsters.

The Sun has reported how readers have been conned out of large amounts of cash and not seen a penny refunded, such as landscape gardener David Hunt who lost nearly £10,000 when scammers pretended to be from HMRC.

And grandmother Jo Wilson, who had her £40,000 life savings stolen by scammers posing as staff from NatWest.

Earlier this month, TSB became the first bank to promise innocent fraud victims refunds.

Other banks have been working on a voluntary code to better protect people from transfer fraud, which takes force on May 28.

NatWest told The Sun that it couldn't comment on the Daily Mail's investigation as the accounts the cash was being transferred to were not held at the RBS Group.

The bank adds that it also can't divulge any information on its fraud and scam prevention strategies.

A spokesperson simply said: “At NatWest, we take our responsibility to prevent scams very seriously. We have strict processes in place to assist our customers and when appropriate, we work with fellow banks and external bodies such as the Police and Action Fraud.”

Meanwhile HSBC said it couldn't comment on the investigation without the permission of the customers involved.

A spokesperson said: "We adhere to best practice standards and where a report of a potentially fraudulent payment or scam is received we take appropriate and timely action.

"In some cases, the receiving banks advise that the funds had been withdrawn before we were notified by the customer, and so we could not reasonably have acted sooner.

"Protecting customers against fraud is a top priority for us, and we work with the authorities and alongside others in the industry to identify and address the ever-changing techniques used by fraudsters and to protect our customers."

The Daily Mail says the money was received into accounts held by APS Financial. The Sun has contacted the company but received no response at the time of writing.

APS Financial told the Daily Mail: "When alerted to fraudulent activities we’ll take appropriate action.

"Regarding the payments made by Daily Mail reporters, none of these were applied to the accounts in question, all of which are blocked."

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