I’m with the bank on this one.
Liam from Medway had his roof repaired in June. After completion he received a second invoice with an email, which purported to be from the roofer, stating that he had forgot to invoice for some of the materials. The invoice was for £169.
The email asked Liam to take note of the new bank details on the invoice. Liam believed it was all above board so paid it. It transpired that fraudsters had hacked the roofers email.
Liam contacted his bank and eventually his claim was rejected.
The bank said that Liam should have called the roofer to check that the email was genuine as there were ‘red flags’ in the email.
Quite right, too. These scams and how they work is relatively common knowledge. Liam failed to exercise due diligence and paid the price. While banks are expected to bail out people who fall for these confidence tricks, they will continue to happen. If people are going to lose their own money, they might pay a bit more care. So, no sympathy from this quarter.
Sally from Winchester fell victim to a bitcoin scam, leading her to transfer £300 to a fraudster. The bank denied her claim, stating that as they had posted warnings on their website about bitcoin scams Sally had been negligent in falling for the scam.
Again, I’m with the bank. These scams, while growing ever more sophisticated in presentation are usually simple enough to spot. If you fall for it, then it is your fault and you should pick up the tab. I’ve lost count of the times people have tried these tricks on me and I’ve spotted them all form a mile off.
There are exceptions of course. The vulnerable and those who are not familiar with modern technology for example – the elderly. Although some elderly folk are pretty switched on.
“There are exceptions of course. The vulnerable and those who are not familiar with modern technology for example – the elderly. Although some elderly folk are pretty switched on.”
You’ve got to be spectacularly dim, or been hiding under a rock for the last 25 years to not have realised that people on the end of a phone line or typing an email may not be who they say they are. I have zero sympathy for anyone under the age of 50 who falls for one of these scams, they have grown up in a computerised and virtual world, and if they are so dim as to be taken in by these cons they should be locked up for their own good. And you have to get into the seriously elderly to find people who have zero experience of phone or computer security.
Most of the people who don’t have IT nous also don’t have IT in the first place. My 80 year old mother can just about manage an old style ‘brick’ phone, iPads, email and internet banking are beyond her. So she’s not going to fall for such a scam because she doesn’t have the tech in the first place. 90% of the victims basically should have known better.
Some elderly people have been conned. Usually with phone calls because they are more inclined to be trusting. My MiL being an example. Fortunately, we have managed to intervene in good time to prevent it.
Otherwise, yes, we are in agreement about the people who fall for these scams and my lack of sympathy for them is as low as yours.
I’m with the bank too in these cases.
Do the morons who claim these, and the pols who support them, not realise that attacking the banks for the gullibity of grown adult customers is sure to cause the banks to reduce/stop/obstruct service in such “hazardous” cases: which will include genuine transactions from those with more brain cells than fingers?
Soon enough, no one will be able to use a current account. There’s no money in offering these, so the banks need any excuse thay can get to discontinue them.
Attempts are made to scam me every day, I see them piling up in my spam mail folder, because I am technologically aware and I’m not an idiot.
“A fool and his money are soon parted” as it ever was and evermore shall be.
I don’t see why you would even think that it was the bank’s problem that you got ripped off.
Because, in our new wondrous snowflake world, it’s always “someone else’s fault”!
Spot on, Baron. We’ve had (too many) decades of indoctrination regarding “rights” with no mention of “responsibilities”.
Banking online is already becoming too much hassle. Gone are the days when you log on and transfer some cash. Now I have to jump through hoops just to log on. Then I get asked every fucking time that I do something ‘How you been pressured into this?’ Bring back the wild west and keep these dickheads out.
Yep, people who fail to exercise due diligence shouldn’t be bailed out by banks (i.e the banks’ customers). On the other hand if the Powers That Be were not so dismissive of small frauds then there would be fewer small frauds. How much effort would it really take to close down defrauding emails, redirections to other bank accounts, or “international service desks” ringing to tell you your internet service was going to be terminated?
It is morally wrong to allow a sucker to keep his money.
WC Fields.
Discuss.
“How much effort would it really take to close down defrauding emails, redirections to other bank accounts, or “international service desks” ringing to tell you your internet service was going to be terminated?”
If only it was that easy. Gaining a conviction is hard, especially if the culprit is overseas.
Solution 1: Extreme rendition, Robocop, retributive violence to perps (or atleast, anyone nearby) without trial, or verdict. An improvement you want?
Solution 2: Block international calls inbound to UK without reliable Calling Line Identities.
Side effect is, we lose telephone contact with much of the 3rd world. Just wait for the shrieks.
OFCOM are doing solution 2. Popocorn required.