Which?, a U.K. consumer advocacy group, on Friday submitted a so-called “super complaint” to the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which calls on them to do more to protect consumers from fraudsters that trick them into bank transfers.
“Unlike many other payment methods — those conned into transferring money by bank transfer to a scammer currently have no legal right to get their money back from their bank,” Which? says in a news release.
“With scams on the rise, consumers can only protect themselves so far, and we believe that banks must do more to tackle bank-transfer fraud and safeguard their customers from scams,” says Alex Neill, the group’s director of policy and campaigns,.
The complaint asks U.K. regulators to formally investigate the scale of bank-transfer fraud, to propose new measures to protect consumers, and to introduce greater liability for banks when consumers are tricked into making a bank transfer. The regulators now have 90 days to investigate and respond to Which?’s concerns.
“We know that fraudsters can use sophisticated tactics, including phishing and vishing, to dupe even the most financially aware consumers. We will work together with the PSR as they investigate this super-complaint,” says Christopher Woolard, director of strategy and competition at the FCA, in a statement.
The PSR also pledged to investigate, and said it would co-operate with the FCA.