With today’s news that more help is on the way for victims of bank transfer fraud, our guest, Michael Sleddon, shares his unfortunate experience.
This is a guest post by Michael Sleddon. All views expressed are his own and not necessarily shared by Which?.
My authorised push payment scam occurred in three distinct phases; in classic terms the hook, the set-up and the sting.
The ‘hook’ was facilitated by the landline. I was given a plausible story about a decoder box being upgraded, then had a phoney engineer appointment made – apparently the engineer would be carrying ID.
The ‘close’ was that I was to be offered a discount and, owing to age and loyalty, it would be back-dated. I was told they didn’t have up-to-date card details ‘because of data protection’. Reluctantly, I handed over my credentials.
The hook, the set-up and the sting
I was worried, so I contacted my provider to establish that it was a scam call, then called my bank on my mobile, going through identity procedure, cancelling my card and discussing a replacement.
I felt like I’d come within a whisker of fraud, when another landline call came through before I’d finished speaking with the bank – it was someone claiming to be from the bank’s fraud team. Little did I know, I was now at the ‘set-up’ stage of the scam.
This was one slick fraudster. He convinced me that the ‘A’ team were now on my case, and that Nigerian raiders were trying to access my funds so I’d need to transfer my money to a safe-haven.
I was extremely worried. It seems incredible now, but I was worried enough to carry out the fraudster’s instructions – he was inside my head. He even contacted the bank’s real fraud team on my behalf, putting me through after instructing me on what to say to ensure the transactions would go through.
By this stage I’d lost £9,000 and had another £8,000 frozen. He even added insult to injury, telling me that this bank account had made other accounts vulnerable, so I’d have to go through the same process with my other bank.
Another £11,700 gone, just like that.
He calmly instructed me to print a copy of the transactions, dictating the record of the transfers I’d made, including recipient amount and sort codes. He told me to take these to my local branch at a specific time, reassuring me I’d not lost a penny. The sting was complete.
Sleepless nights
When it dawned on me that I’d been scammed, I was in a hell of a state. I tried to contact my banks, but my accounts had been frozen and they couldn’t talk to me. I’d authorised the transfer, so the money was gone.
I was distraught after a sleepless night, visiting my branch first thing. I was passed on by fraud departments into long processes, and both banks generated a letter to confirm I’d been a victim of an authorised push payment scam.
The fraudster had moved my money into a ‘mule’ account – filling it, then emptying it within a couple of hours.
I was told they were not liable for my losses, and that I could contact Action Fraud if I wished. I authorised these transfers, so I carry the can, but I feel like banks should have procedures in place to prevent this from happening.
This is a guest post by Michael Sleddon. All views expressed are his own and not necessarily shared by Which?.
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Two years ago, Which? launched a super-complaint demanding action on bank transfer fraud, after hearing countless stories from customers who’d lost their life savings. Sometimes called ‘authorised push payment’ scams, bank transfer scams happen when people are tricked into sending money to a fraudster from their bank to another.
A new voluntary code has now been produced by banks, regulators and consumer groups (including Which?) to tackle the issue of bank transfer scams. The new code will only be judged a success when victims targeted by these sophisticated criminals are treated fairly and reimbursed swiftly.
New plans published today will look to ramp up protection for bank account customers and reimburse them for losses – but only if they’ve acted responsibly and the banks involved shoulder some of the blame for the fraud.
Do you think the plans go far enough? Have you experienced authorised push payment fraud? Share your thoughts and experiences with us.
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