Reimbursement lottery for bank transfer scam victims must end, says Which?

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy People who are tricked into transferring money to a fraudster should have similar protections to crime victims whose money is stolen from their bank account without their knowledge, according to Whic? The consumer group argued that the way banks apply a voluntary reimbursement code when people are tricked into making an authorised bank transfer to a fraudster is “riddled with chronic problems”, and victims are not getting the safeguards they need. “We are reviewing the feedback to the proposals we had suggested and will consult on any proposed course of action in September.” We agree that more needs to be done and we firmly believe that a regulated code, backed by legislation, is the most effective answer so that consumer protections apply consistently across the banking industry Katy Worobec, UK Finance Katy Worobec, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance said: “Fraud has a devastating emotional impact on victims and the money stolen goes on to fund serious organised crime, so the banking industry’s primary focus is on stopping these scams happening in the first place. “However, we agree that more needs to be done and we firmly believe that a regulated code, backed by legislation, is the most effective answer so that consumer protections apply consistently across the banking industry.