MSE News: Banks may have to refund victims of cash transfer scams from next year

Former_MSE_Megan_F

Victims tricked into transferring cash from their bank to a fraudster’s account may be reimbursed from next year under new rules to tackle a surge in so-called ‘transfer scams’...

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'Banks may have to refund victims of cash transfer scams from next year'

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michaels

Sounds like a new way to easily defraud the banks no doubt paid for by all of us.

Similar to fake car accidents, scammer and friend agree that friend will be 'caught out' by scam and get their money back whilst scammer takes the 'wrongly sent' money and gives his friend back 50% of the profit.

Credit-Crunched

Will they refund my £10 bet on the 15:30 at Cheltenham, I was robbed guvner

aj23_2

Don't do online transfers. Simple. I don't know how people even end up transferring money to fraudsters.

Reaper

aj23 wrote: »

Don't do online transfers. Simple. I don't know how people even end up transferring money to fraudsters.

You would be surprised. For example you get a call from your bank to say they suspect people are trying to withdraw money from your account. To be sure you are talking to your bank you put the phone down and call them back using the correct number for the bank you looked up.

As a precaution the bank suggests you move your money to a new account they have set up for you and provide the account details.

That's just one of many tricks and uses a flaw in the way phones work. In none of the calls are you ever really talking to your bank.

Reaper

I am a bit uneasy about the banks paying compensation when they have done nothing wrong though.

aj23_2

Reaper wrote: »

You would be surprised. For example you get a call from your bank to say they suspect people are trying to withdraw money from your account. To be sure you are talking to your bank you put the phone down and call them back using the correct number for the bank you looked up.

As a precaution the bank suggests you move your money to a new account they have set up for you and provide the account details.

That's just one of many tricks and uses a flaw in the way phones work. In none of the calls are you ever really talking to your bank.

Perhaps I'm just too suspicious but I still wouldn't do it. I have had it when it's been clearly a scam, like in an email, and legitimate. I just don't answer it and listen to the voicemail, then ring the number on the back of my card.

Why would the bank, by calling the legitimate phone number on the back of the card, tell you to move money to another account? I don't do online banking anyway.

miller

So an account holder's name(s) can be harvested from a sort code and account number pumped into online banking?

soulsaver

aj23 wrote: »

Why would the bank, by calling the legitimate phone number on the back of the card, tell you to move money to another account?

Because it isn't the bank you're talking to, it's the scammers still on the line.
And you can use telephone banking to pay the scammers. They're very accommodating..

societys_child

Why would the bank, by calling the legitimate phone number on the back of the card, tell you to move money to another account?

They don't, that's how the scam works.

The fraudster tells the victim to end the call and phone the bank using the number on the card.
However the fraudster keeps the line open and so is able to intercept the call and pretend to be the bank.
It works on the [STRIKE]stupidity[/STRIKE] naivety of the victim . .

Banks do try and warn customers that they would never tell anyone to transfer cash in this way, and why would they when they can simply protect the account (if a fraud attempt had been detected) by the blocking it. People don't think things through . . .

aj23_2

miller wrote: »

So an account holder's name(s) can be harvested from a sort code and account number pumped into online banking?

You can't find out peoples names from a sort code or account number. Only banks have access to that.