Now, finally, banks will have to accept – as we have been arguing in our Nail the Scammers campaign – that these scams are sophisticated, involve social engineering and that victims cannot be blamed. I have spoken with countless victims who have been abandoned by their bank and told they are to blame or that their money has disappeared and nothing can be done. The emotional impact of that kind of betrayal can be devastating. They make up stories to convince their victim to hand over their cash. They might tell them they are from the police, their bank’s fraud department, or even a potential love interest. In many cases fraudsters spend days or even weeks befriending and gaining the trust of their victim. This is one of the most terrifying and life changing types of scam, in which victims can lose their life savings in an instant.

Victims lost £583million to it last year – a 39 per cent rise in one year alone. Fraud is already the largest contributor to crime in the UK and this type of scam is rising quickly.

They are under consultation, but unlikely to come into force until next year. These new rules cannot be implemented soon enough. Putting receiving banks on the hook should incentivise them to do more to stop fraudsters opening accounts in the first place. The cost of reimbursement will be split between the victim’s bank and the bank to which their money is fraudulently sent. Banks will be able to charge victims a fee for doing so, but no more than £35. All losses between £100 and £1million will be repaid. Good news: All fraud victims who are tricked into sending their money in online scams will be reimbursed within 48 hoursīanks will have to reimburse victims unless they suspect they were in on the crime or grossly negligent.

What is viber scam