Which? responds to UK Finance half year fraud report

Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said:

"With hundreds of millions of pounds lost to scams in the first half of this year and a huge jump in the number of scams where victims are tricked into transferring money to fraudsters, it’s more clear than ever that plans for a fairer and more consistent APP reimbursement system must not be delayed. 

“The payments regulator must not give in to industry pressure to weaken consumer protections that should see the vast majority of victims getting their money back and being spared the devastating financial and emotional consequences of falling victim to increasingly sophisticated scams.

“The increase in APP scams is largely driven by purchase scams, so it’s very worrying that the regulator is considering proposals that could mean victims losing up to £250 would not be eligible for reimbursement. This risks opening the floodgates to this type of fraud if banks have less of an incentive to prevent it and victims less of an incentive to report it to the police.

"With most fraud now starting online, new online safety laws must lead to Ofcom holding tech giants to a high standard, ensuring that fraudulent content doesn't appear on their sites in the first place and taking tough enforcement action against companies that fail to meet those standards."

-ENDS-