Fraud and scam complaints at highest quarterly level recorded – ombudsman
The Financial Ombudsman Service said it is seeing increasingly complex complaints with funds passing through several banks.
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Your support makes all the difference.Fraud and scam complaints have reached the highest quarterly level recorded by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
It said consumers lodged 9,091 complaints in the three months from July to September, up from 6,264 new cases recorded a year earlier.
In the previous quarter (April to June), there were 8,734 fraud and scam complaints.
The latest quarterly total is the highest since records started in April 2018, the FOS said.
Within the latest total, 4,956 complaints were in relation to authorised push payment (APP) scams – where people are tricked into transferring money to a fraudster.
These crimes can be complex and incredibly convincing and nobody should be afraid to come forward
New rules came into force in October, requiring banks to reimburse APP scam victims. Previously, many banks had signed up to a voluntary reimbursement code.
The FOS said it is seeing increasingly complex complaints, with “multi-stage frauds” where funds pass through several banks before reaching the fraudster.
This is particularly prevalent in cryptocurrency investment scams, according to the service, as well as “safe account” scams – where people are cold-called by fraudsters posing as a trusted organisation, such as their bank, and persuaded to transfer money to another account.
Abby Thomas, chief executive and chief ombudsman of the FOS, said: “It’s concerning to see yet another rise in fraud and scams cases coming to our service. People can feel embarrassed to have fallen victim to a fraud or scam and may be reluctant to report the issue, but these crimes can be complex and incredibly convincing and nobody should be afraid to come forward.
“In recent years, as a result of our investigations into thousands of cases, more than £150 million has been returned to those who have fallen victim to a scam.
“If consumers have a dispute with their bank or finance provider they can come directly to our service, if they’re unhappy with how their complaint has been handled. Getting a fair answer is free and easy.”