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Finance Industry attempts to tackle scams as consumers lose £236m
UK consumers lost £236m due to authorised push payment scams in 2017 as deception and impersonation continue to drive fraud according to data released by UK Finance on Thursday.
Preventing authorised push payments, where an account holder authorises payment to another account after being duped, is currently a priority for UK Finance which is working with the Joint Fraud Taskforce and the Payment Systems Regulator on proposals to tackle the issue.
Katy Worobec, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said: "The finance industry is committed to playing its part - investing in advanced security systems to protect customers, introducing new standards on how banks respond to scam victims, and working with the Joint Fraud Taskforce to deter and disrupt criminals and better trace, freeze and return stolen funds."
Financial providers were able to return 26%, or £60.8m, of the authorised push payment losses last year.
88% of those who fell victim to authorised payment scams were retail customers with the average loss per case at £2,784 while businesses list an average of £24,355 per case.
The figures from UK Finance show that total losses from unauthorized fraud, where the transaction is carried out by a third party, fell by 5% in 2017 to £731.8m, with financial companies able to prevent a further £1,458.6m in losses.
Tony Blake, senior fraud prevention officer at the dedicated card and payment crime unit, said: 2With criminals using social engineering to target people and businesses directly, it's vital that everyone follows the advice of the Take Five campaign. Always stop and think if you are ever asked for your personal or financial details."
Common impersonation scams involve a text message or email from a fraudster purporting to be a trusted organisation such as a bank or utility company requesting payment or bank details.