More Brits than ever being targeted by banking fraudsters – despite industry action to ‘protect customers’

Consumer group Which? claims it has not seen enough evidence of industry progress to protect customers, as it calls on the next Government to take tough action on financial fraud

Financial fraud is as rife as ever, a consumer group has warned, five months after a regulator found evidence that Britain is not doing enough to protect its consumers.

According to research by Which?, millions of people are still at risk of losing money, with crooks cashing in on thousands of pounds of stolen money a day in the UK – through a series of illegal banking tactics.

The claims come just five months after the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) found evidence that the industry could be doing more to protect customers from bank transfer scams.

Despite the findings, Which? says it has not seen sufficient evidence of any progress in protecting customers, and is calling on the next government to take tough action on financial fraud.
Which’s? results show that one in 10 people in the UK have previously made a bank transfer, or know someone that has made a payment, that later turned out to be to a fraudster.

Of those people who had lost money to bank transfer scams, more than half (54%) had been victims in the past six months.

These latest findings highlight that some people are still losing life-changing sums of money to this type of scam, with nearly four in 10 saying they didn’t get any money back at all.

In September 2016, Which? made the first super-complaint to a financial regulator, calling on the industry to do more to better protect its customers from bank transfer scams.

Today, the consumer group is writing to banks urging for them to outline what action they are taking to safeguard consumers from bank transfer scams.

Money expert at Which?, Gareth Shaw, 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.”

5 ways to protect yourself from fraudsters

1. NEVER disclose security details such as your PIN or full password – banks and other financial firms will never ask you for this information
2. DON’T assume an email request or caller is genuine – people are not always who they say they are
3. DON’T be rushed – a genuine bank or financial provider will not mind waiting to give you time to stop and think
4. LISTEN to your instincts – if something feels wrong or sounds too good to be true it is usually right to stop and question it
5. STAY in control – have the confidence to refuse unusual requests for too much personal information
   

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   Courtesy Mirror