Woman conned out of £17,500 life savings in bank transfer scam as Which? claims reports are ‘tip of the iceberg’
She's been left out of pocket and with tax bills to pay as there is currently no legal right for people targeted this way to get the money back
BANK transfer scammers are conning people out of £5.5million and victims have no way of getting the cash back.
In just two weeks since Which? launched an online scams reporting tool more than 650 people have told the consumer group about how they've lost cash to transfer scams.
The largest single loss reported to Which? was £395,802, with most people losing £1,200 on average.
The consumer group has been gathering evidence for a "super complaint" it made in September to regulators about bank transfer fraud.
It wants to see banks take more responsibility when people are tricked into making bank transfers to fraudsters.
Annette, from north London, lost her life savings of £17,500 earlier this year after con artists convinced her they worked for NatWest and that she needed to transfer the balance of her account to a different one - which unbeknown to her was their own and had nothing to do with the high street bank.
The 55-year-old told The Sun Online she was called by fraudsters in June this year pretending to be from her bank, claiming that money had been taken out of her account.
She said: "They asked me how much was in my account and I said I wasn't going to tell them that as I suspected they were fake.
It's so worrying, I lie awake in bed every night worrying about how I'm going to manage.
Annette, victim
"They told me to call the number on the back of my card so I would know it was them but it took so long and I had to go through so many options that I eventually gave up.
The fraudsters called her back on a different phone and tried to convince her to log in to her online backing. They then promised to send her an activation code to prove their authenticity.
The next morning Annette tried the new online banking code she'd been sent and it worked - convincing her to believe the scammers really were legitimate.
But the fraudsters weren't finished with her and when they called up again they insisted money HAD been removed from her account.
They told her they needed to shut down her account and transfer the money to a different one and supplied her with their own account number and sort code.
Annette added: "I genuinely did believe at that point they were from the bank, how else could they have got the activation code?
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"I knew it was a con when they said that they were sorry for the inconvenience and would be paying me compensation of £1,000 - which I know NatWest would never do.
"I ran straight up the hill to my local branch but they just put me on the phone to the fraud department.
"I didn't feel they were taking me seriously, they should have frozen the money there and then."
After complaining to the bank and contacting the Financial Ombudsman she was told that the cash was gone for good - and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Annette said: "That's all my savings that I have worked for.
"It's so worrying, I lie awake in bed every night worrying about how I'm going to manage.
"What is the point of banks if they can't keep your money safe? It's like the banks are pretending it doesn't go on."
We must stress that nobody, including the bank, will ever ask customers to move money to keep it safe or otherwise.
NatWest, spokesperson
NatWest said Annette was a victim of "number spoofing" where criminals use software to manipulate the caller ID number, tricking you into thinking the call is real.
A spokesman said: "Regrettably our customer was a victim of a scam. Unfortunately there was no opportunity for the bank to intervene and the customer paid funds away to another bank.
"We must stress that nobody, including the bank, will ever ask customers to move money to keep it safe or otherwise. Anyone who suspects a fraud might be taking place should report it immediately to the bank and to the police."
Across the UK, consumers now make over 70 million bank transfers a month.
But at present people conned into transferring money by bank transfer to a scammer currently have no legal right to get their money back from their bank - unlike with payment methods such as credit and debit cards.
Which? said it has seen evidence of "incredibly sophisticated scams, where consumers could not be expected to spot they were the target of fraudulent activity".
Alex Neill, managing director of Which? Legal Services, said: "We're only seeing the tip of the iceberg, so it is vital that these stories are heard and action is taken to tackle bank transfer fraud.
"The harsh reality is if you're conned into making a payment to a fraudster via bank transfer you often stand to lose large sums of money.
"We expect the financial regulators to use this opportunity to take meaningful action and propose new measures to help the victims of bank transfer fraud."
In September, the consumer group used its legal powers to make a super complaint to the Payment Systems Regulator and alert the Financial Conduct Authority.
It wants regulators to formally investigate the scale of bank transfer fraud and how much it is costing consumers, and take action to propose new measures, and greater liability for banks to ensure consumers are better protected when they have been tricked into making a bank transfer.
People who have been the victim of a bank transfer scam can use the Which? tool to share their experience with the regulator
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