Hargreaves Lansdown’s Post

“… do a little bit of work. It doesn’t really matter how poor… as long as you’ve done a bit you can claim it’s not a crime, just that the householders had a poor deal.” That quote comes from a doorstep criminal. It’s an opinion widely held by those engaged in organised, professional fraud using rogue trading as the MO and, unfortunately, all too often it’s accurate. The quote was published in 2001 and it is as accurate now as it was then. In a post-PSR world, where PSPs are not required to reimburse in ‘civil disputes’, it becomes all the more relevant. To what extent are PSPs geared up to correctly identify doorstep crime and ensure they avoid causing APP fraud victims secondary victimisation by denying them their right to reimbursement?

Tensions are escalating between banking and payment companies and social media firms in the U.K. over who should be liable for compensating people if they fall victim to fraud schemes online. ➡️ Starting from Oct. 7, banks will be required to start compensating victims of so-called authorized push payment (APP) fraud a maximum £85,000 if those individuals affected were tricked or psychologically manipulated into handing over the cash. ➡️ APP fraud is a form of a scam where criminals attempt to convince people to send them money by impersonating individuals or businesses selling a service. Read more: https://cnb.cx/3Bw3dCN

Authorized payment fraud is a serious threat. In the world of fraud and scams, there are many schemes, but none more notorious than these. In this article, we discuss different types of authorized payment fraud and how fraudsters trick people into authorizing payments. - Invoice Fraud - CEO Fraud - Romance Scams - Tech Support Scams We also discuss how authorized payment fraud and scams can be stopped. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gZ4D6fgH #authorizedpaymentfraud #fraudprevention #stopscams #datavisor

🚨 Urgent Scam Alert! Some fraudsters are impersonating Framing Ideas LLC, asking for payments to personal accounts outside the US. Remember, we only accept Cashapp, Venmo, Zelle, and PayPal. Stay safe and share this alert with your circle! #FraudAlert #StayVigilant #SecurePayments #FramingIdeasLLC #PaymentSafety #ScamAwareness #ClientProtection #TrustedTransactions #AvoidScams #OnlineSecurity #BusinessIntegrity #ScamPrevention #ProtectYourself #SafetyFirst

I'm not surprised, I'm just disappointed... but now we know where the balance lies between #regulation and consumer protection vs. #competition and innovation. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has bowed slightly to industry lobbying, led by The Payments Association (PA), and reduced the mandatory reimbursement limit from £415K to £85K per #AuthorisedPushPayment (#APP) scam. The principal reason: a higher limit might result in small Payment Service Providers (#PSPs) going out of business, because they can't afford to compensate victims. The context: small PSPs have the highest fraud rates as receiving institutions (i.e. they are the main way #fraudsters place and layer illicit funds). While The PA and its members might be celebrating the W on a reduction in the limit, overall this is a big WIN for consumers, society as a whole and the PSR (who deserve our thanks and praise). After many years of patient and diligent work, and in the face of intense lobbying, the UK has taken an important step forward in protecting victims and incentivising industry to work harder to reduce economic crime. The GOOD news: + IT'S HAPPENING: The PSR is still going ahead with an Oct 7th implementation date. + IT'S MEANINGFUL: The limit hasn't been set any lower than £85K (The PA was calling for a £30K limit), and will cover >99% of claims. + IT'S THE SAME FOR CHAPS: The Bank of England has agreed to the same £85K limit for the high value gross settlement service, CHAPS. + THE FOS COVERS UP TO £430K: If you are a victim of an APP fraud for greater than £85K - you can still complain to the PSPs involved, and if dissatisfied, refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service who can direct awards of up to £430K. + IT SHOULD BE QUICK: Sending PSPs are expected to reimburse victims up to £85K within 5 working days (less a voluntary excess of £100) + PSPs SHOULD COLLABORATE: Receiving PSPs are required to cover 50% of the reimbursement amount. So there is still a strong incentive for PSPs to work together to reduce economic crime. The BAD news: - PER SCAM: The mandatory limit appears to apply per scam - not per transaction. High value APP victims therefore may want to file individual complaints *per transaction* with the FOS if in aggregate these are greater than £430K - NO INFLATION: The £85K limit doesn't increase with inflation, but is subject to annual review - IT'S THE SAME FOR CHAPS: The average transaction size on CHAPS is 2000x larger than FasterPayments (£1.6M vs £800), so the limit should be higher. - LIMIT CONFUSION: The potential for confusion exists between the FSCS deposit guarantee of £85K (a stock limit which only applies to failed banks / building societies, not e-money or payment institutions), the £85K reimbursement limit (a flow limit applies to scams processed on FasterPayments and CHAPS) and the FOS £430K limit (per complaint). Today's statement by the PSR: https://lnkd.in/e2QMwaTr My consultation response: https://lnkd.in/e9Ex6jvg

Consumer Watch and Fraud Watch - Fake websites for real companies are scamming Canadian consumers and businesses #canada #fakewebsites #canadianconsumers #canadianbusiness #canadianbusinesses #consumerfraud #fraud #fraudawareness #onlineshopping

As authorised push payment fraud continues to rise, resulting in new regulations from the Payment Systems Regulator to better safeguard victims. Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their tactics, aided by the growth of AI, but these changes aim to provide quicker and fairer resolutions to the people affected: 💷 Victims of fraud will now be reimbursed within five business days of their claim 🏧 Maximum compensation is capped at £85,000, with some banks pledging to waive the optional £100 excess for vulnerable customers 🙋♀️ There will now a time limit of 13 months on claims These changes represent a significant step forward in protecting individuals from financial scams, find out more The Guardian 👉 https://buff.ly/3Nlyefu #AIBanking #FinancialCrime #AITechnology

After years of campaigning by CEL and taking part in regulatory feedback in numerous consultations to try and enhance protection for fraud and scam victims and his last minute change is really disappointing but not surprising given the way regulatory changes are conducted in the UK. Shady deals in back rooms with powerful lobbying groups who stand to benifit from any changes, with the people who stand to have detriment from changes not represented in the room. The PSR new rules are still a big win for the majority of scam victims but it remains to be seen if the majority of financial organisations adhere to them. In our experience most will not. We advise clients everyday who have gone to financial organisations seeking redress and have been told they will not be refunded but we have helped clients recover over £100,000,000.00 who have been victims of scams. The police are not funded to properly police the proliferation of online scams in the past 5 years. All victims we see transfer money to the scammer from a financial organisation. Until all financial organisations have robust anti fraud detection systems in place that can stop suspicious payments, reduce payment limits that can be made without speaking to a person and introducing friction into faster payments APP fraud will continue to be a big problem in the UK.

The latest Annual Fraud Report from UK Finance. The main headline is that £1.17 billion was lost to fraud in 2023. Some interesting numbers coming out of it including that the total value of APP losses have fallen five per cent since the previous year: although there has been a 12 growth in APP cases, driven by romance and purchase scams. As we head towards the proposed reimbursement rules in October, it will be very interesting to see what this landscape looks like in a years time. #fraud #financialcrime Thistle Initiatives

In 2023, a staggering 40% of all crime in England and Wales was fraud related. You can find some simple ways to beat the baddies and keep your cash safe in this Hodge blog: #OnlineBanking #OnlineBankingScams #Savings #Fraud #KeepingYourMoneySafe #AlwaysWorkingWithYou