Scam victims get their money back under rules

“HIGH proportion” of scam victims are getting their money back since new mandatory fraud reimbursement rules were launched last October, according to the regulator overseeing the policy.

- VICKY SHAW

The rules, overseen by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), require banks to give people their money back when they have been tricked into transferring it to criminals.

An authorised push payment (APP) reimbursement limit of £85,000 has been applied under the rules, although banks can choose to go further than this and repay higher amounts.

Posting a “snapshot” of what the regulator has seen so far, its managing director David Geale said on the PSR's website: “We are pleased with what we've seen in the data and heard from stakeholders in the first few months, which demonstrates that the policy has been successfully implemented - and more consumers have been protected.

“This is testament to the efforts of industry to deliver the best outcomes for victims of APP scams and work with us to resolve any issues.”

Under the new code, reimbursement costs are split between the sending and receiving banks - giving the receiving firm an added incentive to stop the scam happening in the first place.