How easy is it to be tricked by crooks who steal money from your bank account? I reckon any of us could fall for a clever scam and think that the banks don’t do enough to ensure that our cash is safe from sophisticated tricksters.
On the other hand, we do have a responsibility to be wary and do everything we can to avoid becoming a fraud victim. That means not handing over our PIN or passwords.
But people will continue to be caught out as villains conjure up even cleverer and more convincing ways to steal our cash.
It happened to SM of Hitchin, Hertfordshire, late last year and left her losing around £10,000. The distressing experience prompted her daughter-in-law, FW, to ask for our help.
She says: “Just before Christmas, my mother-in-law was a victim of a sophisticated telephone online fraud. Both she and her husband are pensioners. They were at home one morning and their internet connection became very slow. Shortly afterwards, they received a call supposedly from BT Open Reach, which explained that the security of their internet connection had been compromised and that their personal information was at risk.
“They were told that they must immediately download some software on to their computer to ensure that their details remained secure. They were asked if they used internet banking, which they did, and were asked to input their details into the computer to make sure no money had been taken.”
It turned out the call wasn’t from BT and the couple had been tricked into handing over their banking details. The crooks then helped themselves and cleared out the cash from two accounts.
Would you have fallen for this? I can’t say with certainty that I wouldn’t, even though I’m constantly looking out for scams. So, I have every sympathy with SM and her husband.
But the subsequent response from the two financial institutions involved concerned me greatly. While Nationwide Building Society responded quickly and returned the stolen cash before I got involved, HSBC refused, effectively telling SM it was her own fault.
That felt like a total betrayal as she had had an account with the bank for around 50 years and actually used to work for it when it was called Midland Bank.
Nationwide’s response was exemplary. It responded quickly to hand back £6,000 that had been taken from a joint account she uses to pay for care.
It told me: “We sympathise with SM in what must have been a traumatic time. In general terms, where a customer does not authorise the transaction, we will look to refund them in full and as soon as possible.”
But HSBC proved Scrooge-like in its response.
FW reports: “Within a couple of days, it wrote to SM and told her that they considered her to be responsible for the fraud by typing in the security details and would not be returning the money or investigating further.
“She is not a wealthy woman and the £3,600 taken was money she had saved from a small pension, which she used for food, heating and so on. She was left with nothing and it caused her hardship.”
It’s preposterous that one financial institution can be understanding, while the other is not. I rang HSBC to say I thought it had failed in its duty to protect its customers, made worse by the fact that an ex-member of staff was involved.
Pleasingly, the bank responded positively and, within a couple of days, had handed the cash back. It said: “Each case is looked at individually and, following a review of SM’s case, we have decided to credit the £3,600 back to her account as a gesture of goodwill.”
That was great news.
FW says: “It is an enormous relief for them financially, but also it means the world to them that there are people willing to stand up for them.”
However, the underlying message is that if you fall for a scam, your bank may not bail you out.
HSBC says: “People should look at the finance industry’s Take Five campaign, which provides information on the techniques used by scammers, as well as giving important advice to customers on what they should do when receiving uninvited approaches, and requests to share financial information.”
OUTCOME: Victim handed back £3,600 by HSBC
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Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/2oYTdcA
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