Scams and Fraud news: page 2
- December 2024
Romance fraud losses reach £99.4m in 2024
Reported romance fraud losses reached £99.4m across 9,096 cases in 2024, according to Action Fraud data obtained by Which?, with men in their twenties the largest group of victims.
- October 2024
Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024 come into force
Rules allowing banks and payment firms to hold back suspected fraud payments for up to four business days came into force on 30 October 2024, with new duties to tell customers and cover their costs.
Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024 made
The Treasury made regulations on 8 October 2024 giving payment service providers a power to delay certain sterling payments made within the UK where they suspect the order followed third-party fraud.
PSR introduces APP scam reimbursement rules
The Payment Systems Regulator brought in mandatory reimbursement for victims of authorised push payment scams from 7 October 2024, with firms paying out unless a customer was grossly negligent.
Statutory reimbursement framework introduced and CRM Code retired
The Payment Systems Regulator's statutory reimbursement framework for authorised push payment scams took effect on 7 October 2024, the same day the voluntary Contingent Reimbursement Model Code was retired.
CRM Code stops applying to bank transfer scam transactions
The Contingent Reimbursement Model Code no longer applies to bank transfer scam transactions made from 7 October 2024, when mandatory reimbursement rules replaced the voluntary scheme.
- September 2024
CP24/11 consultation closes on the maximum level of reimbursement for Faster Payments APP scams
The Payment Systems Regulator's consultation on lowering the maximum reimbursement for Faster Payments APP scams from £415,000 to £85,000 closed on 18 September 2024, with the policy start date unchanged.
Scam text impersonates government Cost of Living Payments with bogus 'annual living allowance'
Which? has reported a scam text and copycat gov.uk website that ask people to apply for a fake "annual living allowance" and hand over personal and financial details.
Specific Direction 21 issued for CHAPS APP scam reimbursement
The Payment Systems Regulator has published Specific Direction 21, requiring firms participating in CHAPS to reimburse victims of authorised push payment scams from 7 October 2024.
FOS warns of rise in card-based authorised fraud
The Financial Ombudsman Service warned in September 2024 that more people were inadvertently using credit or debit cards to pay fraudsters, a pattern it says has continued to grow.
PSR publishes PS24/5 CHAPS APP scams reimbursement requirement
The Payment Systems Regulator has published Specific Direction 21, extending authorised push payment scam reimbursement rules to CHAPS payments from 6 September 2024.
- August 2024
Cifas data shows identity fraud on the rise in first half of 2024
More than 214,000 cases were filed to the Cifas National Fraud Database in the first half of 2024, up 15% on 2023, with identity fraud the most commonly reported type.
Consultation launched on extending APP scam reimbursement to CHAPS participants
The Payment Systems Regulator has consulted on proposals to require banks and other firms using the CHAPS payment system to reimburse customers who are victims of authorised push payment scams.
- July 2024
Amended legal instruments for APP scams reimbursement published
The Payment Systems Regulator has published amended legal instruments for authorised push payment scam reimbursement and confirmed the policy start date of 7 October 2024.
- June 2024
Pay.UK must publish final Faster Payments reimbursement rules and compliance monitoring regime
Pay.UK was required by the Payment Systems Regulator to publish final Faster Payments reimbursement rules and an approved compliance monitoring regime by 7 June 2024, ahead of the 7 October 2024 start date.
- May 2024
Consultation on CHAPS APP scam reimbursement requirement closes
The Payment Systems Regulator's consultation on extending authorised push payment scam reimbursement to CHAPS closed on 31 May 2024, with the same 7 October 2024 start date proposed as for Faster Payments.
- April 2024
Which? reveals Revolut fraud complaints outstrip all banks
Which? published Financial Ombudsman Service data showing that fraud complaints about Revolut in 2023 outstripped those about every bank, as the firm remains an e-money institution without a UK banking licence.
- March 2024
Which? and DNS Research Federation find more than 2,000 copycat bank website URLs reported in 2023
Research published by Which? and the DNS Research Federation found more than 2,000 web addresses imitating UK bank brands were reported to a phishing blocklist in 2023.
Scam text reports to 7726 lead to removal of more than 60,000 malicious websites
Increased reporting of scam texts to the 7726 service led to more than 60,000 malicious websites being removed in March 2024, according to figures shared by Action Fraud.
- January 2024
Reports of HMRC impersonation scams rising ahead of tax return deadline
Which? reports HMRC received more than 200,000 scam reports in the year to November 2023, up 9% year-on-year, and sets out the fake call, text and email tactics in circulation.
- December 2023
PSR to publish claim excess and reimbursement cap by end of 2023
The Payment Systems Regulator will publish the claim excess, maximum reimbursement level, guidance on gross negligence and all legal instruments for bank transfer fraud refunds by the end of 2023.
PSR published final APP scams reimbursement policy statement and legal instruments
The Payment Systems Regulator published its final PS23/4 policy statement and three legal instruments on APP scams reimbursement in December 2023, setting a start date of 7 October 2024.
- October 2023
PSR published PS23/3 and PS23/4 setting the APP reimbursement requirement parameters
The Payment Systems Regulator has set out the detailed parameters for mandatory reimbursement of authorised push payment scam losses through Faster Payments, with the policy starting on 7 October 2024.
PSR publishes consultation on specific direction implementing APP reimbursement requirement
The Payment Systems Regulator has consulted on a specific direction for Faster Payments participants, one of three legal instruments underpinning its authorised push payment fraud reimbursement requirement.
- September 2023
Draft v0.7 of APP reimbursement scheme rules approved for PSR consultation
Pay.UK has approved a final draft of the APP Reimbursement Scheme Rules for Faster Payments, sending version 0.7 to the Payment Systems Regulator for consultation.
Consultation CP23/6 on APP fraud excess and maximum reimbursement level closes
The Payment Systems Regulator's consultation on the excess and maximum reimbursement level for Faster Payments and CHAPS closed on 12 September 2023, with the regulator publishing its response.
CP23/7 consultation on the consumer standard of caution closed
The Payment Systems Regulator's consultation on the consumer standard of caution for authorised push payment fraud closed on 12 September 2023, with a response published alongside it.
- August 2023
Section 72 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 comes into force
Section 72 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 came into force on 29 August 2023, requiring the Payment Systems Regulator to draft and then impose reimbursement rules for Faster Payments fraud cases.
CP23/4 consultation on draft APP fraud reimbursement legal instruments closes
The Payment Systems Regulator's consultation on draft legal directions for mandatory authorised push payment fraud reimbursement closed on 25 August 2023, with implementation proposed for 2 April 2024.
PSR to consult on claim excess and reimbursement cap
The Payment Systems Regulator will consult in August 2023 on the claim excess banks may charge fraud victims, the maximum reimbursement cap and guidance on the gross negligence test.