Refundee quoted in the Financial Times backed Sifted.eu
You may have seen Refundee mentioned in this recent Sifted article on fraud, quoted as fraud and scam experts. On the front line of the fight against fraud, where victims are unfairly being denied reimbursement, Refundee has been quoted in BBC Watchdog, Sifted, The Express and other news sites. We are trusted to give fair and clear information about the latest fraud trends, and how victims can seek justice when they lose money to a scam.
What fraud trends has Refundee given an expert view on?
Refundee witnesses the latest fraud trends as and when they are happening. The main scam trends we are currently seeing include:
Job scams, where scammers are trying to take advantage of the cost of living crisis and victims search for second jobs. These will normally involve payments to unlock tasks that provide ‘commission’. However this is a scam and the money earnt cannot be withdrawn. Refundee was recently quoted in the Express warning about these scams
Cryptocurrency investment scams where victims are told to send money into a cryptocurrency wallet in their own name, and then on to a broker which shows trades happening. The portals that customers can log into and view their investment performance are fake. While people may be able to withdraw small early returns to entice them to invest more, people won’t get back the vast majority of money they invest. In fact, when you try to withdraw, the fraudsters will trick you with fictitious fees or taxes
Romance scams involving the scammer building trust and then introducing victims to cryptocurrency or other investments that are fake platforms which do not let you withdraw the returns
All of these scams are very prominent right now, and banks are perfectly placed to use their experience of these fraud trends to expose and prevent them before the victims lose their money. As we are quoted as highlighting in the Sifted.eu article, it appears to be the case that some banks are more effective at detecting and preventing scams than others.
A vital part of this is not just identifying that something suspicious is happening when customers attempt payments, but how banks question those payments. Trends at the Financial Ombudsman Service and at Refundee highlight that some banks appear to have higher complaint levels about fraud and scams than others, indicating there could be issues with their fraud prevention approach or how they treat victims once they report the scam.
Why should bank’s intervene when transactions are unusual?
Banks are the best placed organisations to tackle fraud, as they understand what scams are prominent and what the common signs of those scams are. In other words, they generally know what to look for. While ordinary members of the public might not know the signs of a scam, a bank is perfectly placed to get involved and fix the situation before it becomes a problem where it identifies something might be wrong. Refundee’s position is that where scam victims send unusual transactions from their account, banks should be using their experience to properly question them using their knowledge of how scams normally happen. If they did not do that, Refundee argues that the fraud victim should not be held liable for what happened.
To some, this may seem unfair to banks. But there is a huge information asymmetry between normal people and what banks know about fraud. Likewise, you put your money in the bank to keep it safe and banks earn interest on those deposits. Part of keeping your money safe is using their knowledge of fraud and scams to protect you from being a victim.
What type of intervention is Refundee highlighting as being a problem?
We have seen examples where some unusual transactions have not been stopped and questioned at all, or questioned in a way that is not sufficient. For example
Some banks have used scripted approaches where information is read out but isn’t relevant to a customer's situation or is jumbled up in the middle of lots of irrelevant information
Open questions are not asked that allow a customer a chance to explain what’s happening
Banks using disclaimers to try and escape liability rather than actually trying to expose a scam or protect their customer
We see automated digital flows that may seem clever but are rendered ineffective. This is because fraudsters quickly learn the flows and are able to bypass them
Refundee does not believe interventions like these are effective at stopping fraud, and we argue that banks should be using their knowledge of fraud and scams to conduct open and probing questioning to identify the typical signs a scam is occurring. We are working with the media to try and highlight examples of what we believe to be good and bad practice, in the hope it drives positive changes that protect fraud victims from the scams ever happening in the first place.
What do I do if I’ve lost money to a scam?
If you have lost money to a scam, Refundee can help you get your money back from your bank and you can fill in our fraud claim form for a free consultation. Our fee is 15% plus VAT on anything that we get back, and we don't charge anything if we are not successful. For larger cases, the fee is subject to a maximum of £10k plus VAT per case.
Remember you don’t need to use a company like Refundee, you could work your case yourself for free! If you’d like to get a refund yourself, you can do this by following our bank transfer refund guide.
