UK regulator says push payment scams worth 341 million pounds reported in 2023

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A UK regulator on Thursday reported more than 252,000 cases of authorised push payment scams worth about 341 million pounds ($438 million) last year where people lost money from their accounts to fraudsters posing as genuine payees.

The Payment Systems Regulator said the volume of such bank transfer scams increased by 12% to 252,626 from 2022 but the total value fell by 12% to £340.65 million in 2023.

The report, which tracks the performance of payment firms in tackling such scams and reimbursing victims, said 67% of money lost to such bank transfer scams was reimbursed in 2023.

While that was an improvement from 61% in 2022, “there is still an inconsistent approach by firms when it comes to reimbursing victims,” the report said.

“Currently, only the sending firm makes any reimbursement, ignoring the vital role receiving firms play in preventing scammers from accessing the UK’s payments systems,” it added.

The report, which considered reimbursements from the largest 14 banking groups in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, along with the data for 11 other smaller firms that figured in the top 20 highest receivers of fraud, showed that reimbursement for victims still largely depended on which bank they use.

Britain’s payments sector in June had called on its regulator to roll back and delay by a year tough new compensation rules due to start in October, saying that “significant changes” were needed to avoid damaging competition.

Lender Nationwide fully reimbursed 96% of the APP scam cases, followed by TSB which fully reimbursed 95% of cases.

Barclays fully reimbursed in 82% of cases, the report said, adding only 3% of cases reported to AIB were fully reimbursed.

($1 = 0.7788 pounds)

(Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)